On Martin Luther King Jr. day, California Senator Kamala Harris announced after much-excited anticipation that she would be running for president. I was overjoyed. As an African American female, this was the highlight of my life. Not only would she be a great representation for myself, but the possibility of having many young, black girls grow up to know that it is possible for a female of their race to be in charge of this country was heartwarming and brought tears to my eyes.
Prior to her announcement, I've only seen her around once in while when she completely destroyed Brett Kavanaugh while questioning him about the Mueller investigation or when she took no prisoners from Kirstjen Nielsen over ICE family separation policies. On "The View," when asked controversial questions about socialism, she handled the situation with grace in the presence of conservatives. These small interactions only aided in my aspiration for this strong and independent woman who is now running for president in 2020, when it will be my FIRST time voting.
To say the least, I was extremely excited. But then I did some research...
Sen. Kamala Harris On Fellow Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez And Rashida Tlaib | The View
When I found out about the announcement, I was ready to settle 100 percent and make a Harris for 2020 poster with a really cool pun on it. In my mind, I didn't need to know anyone else that may be running that year. However, I knew that it might be a terrible idea to do, so I decided to do some research.
According to her website, Kamala Harris supports:
1. Sweeping tax cuts for the middle class
2. Addressing the high cost of rent
3. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour
4. Making higher education tuition-free for the vast majority of Americans
5. Reforming the cash bail system
6. Protecting the legal rights of refugees and immigrants
7. Expanding access to affordable, quality health care with Medicare for All.
All of this sounded wonderful and progressive in a way that didn't seem too extreme to handle in the length of her term. Once again, I saw no red flags. But during my research, I found something that didn't sit well with me.
During her years as a prosecutor, Harris has aided in the continuation of a harmful justice system. Harris has been known to block the release of non-violent offenders in order to keep the prison labor pool numbers high, enforce truancy policies, and has defended a corrupt prosecutor. To think that Harris — not only a woman but a black woman — could actively contribute to policies and systems that not only hurt the black community but at times specifically target them is a huge turn-off for a majority of her followers.
Now I will say that I do not know much about this information and that I truly do believe that these actions can be due to the fact that she had to progress some way in the field that she was in. But, this is still alarming.
Through this process, I started to think about what I would have done if I solely supported Harris at face-value. Granted, I still believe that she is an amazing candidate for this race. But, what if the negative attributes of her beliefs or actions had been more extreme? I would have made a big mistake on election day. This made me think about how often people can side with a candidate, senator, or political party because we relate to them in some way without considering the beliefs and reputations of the person that they are supporting.
Now I may be voting for Kamala Harris, but as more and more candidates announce that they are running for president, I will keep an open mind and actively make it a priority to learn about them — whether it be negative or positive. So should you.
