Kamala Harris, a pioneer in the face of the last glass ceiling

The vice president, Kamala Harris could write a new page in the history of the United States if he manages to break the glass ceiling with the support of Joe Biden to be a presidential candidate.

She has already done so by becoming, in January 2021, the first woman, the first African-American and the first person of Asian origin to be vice president of the country.

As early as March 2023, Biden had declared that his running mate had “broken one glass ceiling after another.”

On Sunday, after receiving Biden’s endorsement, she was quick to declare that her intention was to “win the nomination” of the Democratic Party to “defeat Donald Trump.”

The 59-year-old vice president says that as a child she demonstrated for civil rights alongside her Jamaican father, an economics professor, and her Indian mother, a breast cancer researcher.

– The “little girl” on the bus –

In 2019, the Californian harshly attacked Joe Biden for having previously opposed a policy to bus black schoolchildren to schools in white districts in order to end racial segregation.

“The little girl (on the bus) was me,” she said.

This outburst did not save his failed campaign, which was interrupted even before the first vote of the primaries.

Joe Biden then invited her to join him, exposing her to attacks from his Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

In 2020, the Republican called her a “monster” and an “angry woman,” terms that evoke racist stereotypes about black women.

Following Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump on June 27, the 78-year-old billionaire attacked her again.

Given to finding nicknames to mock his rivals, Trump called her “Jolly Kamala” because she laughs out loud, and his campaign team described her as a die-hard leftist.

A graduate of Howard University, founded in Washington to welcome African-American students, Kamala Harris is proud of her career path, which embodies the American dream.

– “How dare they!” –

After two terms as District Attorney in San Francisco (2004-2011), she was twice elected Attorney General of California (2011-2017), becoming the first woman and the first black person to head the judicial services of the most populous state in the country.

She has been criticized for her crackdown on petty crime, which opponents say hurt minorities.

In January 2017, she was sworn into the Senate in Washington, where she became the first woman of South Asian descent and only the second black senator in history.

Once vice president, she dedicated her victory speech to women who have fought for equality in the country.

In 2022, Harris fervently defended abortion rights, which were called into question by the Supreme Court.

“Some Republican leaders are trying to use the law against women. How dare they! How dare they tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body!” she said.

This powerful statement and Kamala Harris’s vigorous campaign across the country over the past year have given her new momentum.

At the beginning of his term, he made some mistakes on issues of diplomacy and immigration.

– “Second Gentleman” –

The American press has criticised her work, but her supporters blame sexist prejudices.

Vogue magazine had to defend itself for having chosen, shortly after the election, a photo of the vice president in sneakers for its cover, instead of a more formal portrait, which would have put more emphasis on her position.

She cultivates a relaxed image, with the help of her husband Doug Emhoff, a Jewish lawyer who acts as “Second Gentleman.”

He is one of the White House’s main assets in the fight against anti-Semitism.

On social media, the couple pretend to discuss basketball: he is a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and she of the San Francisco Warriors.

Kamala Harris, known to her family as “Momala,” is a great cook. During an official trip to Paris, she took the opportunity to buy some copper pots.

Aurélia END.