Kamala Harris' win a victory for women, minorities

US VICE PRESIDENT-elect Kamala Harris is a breath of fresh air for women, minorities and the philosophy of progressivism all over the world, a local commentator and regional leaders said on Saturday.

Harris, 56, made many firsts when she was nominated by President-elect Joe Biden as his running-mate in August. And she broke the proverbial "glass ceiling" as part of their victory over the Trump-Pence card. She is the first woman to be elected US Vice President, and is the first African American, the first Indian American, and the third woman to be picked as the vice presidential nominee for either the Democratic or Republican parties. Geraldine Ferraro (Democrat, 1984) and Sarah Palin (Republican, 2008) precede Harris.

Harris is also the first African American woman to be elected district attorney of San Francisco, serving from 2004-2010. A year later, she became the first woman, first African American and first Asian American to serve as California's attorney general.

Donald Harris, her father, migrated to the US from Jamaica in 1961. He is an economist and retired professor of Stanford University. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who died in 2009, was an accomplished biomedical scientist, born in India. Harris has a younger sister, Maya Harris, who is a lawyer and political analyst.

The vice president-elect made an early run for the top job but eventually withdrew on December 3, 2019, citing a shortage of funds.

In March, she endorsed Biden for president, and in August, Biden announced he had chosen Harris as his running-mate.

Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer who is set to become the first male Second Spouse.

There were strong reactions to Harris's election all over the globe, not least in the Caribbean.

Sunday Newsday spoke with US citizen and TT resident Debbie Jacob, who is well known for her work as a journalist, author and prison reform activist.

She said she voted in every election since she was 18 and sent absentee ballots for elections over the past 37 years since she moved to TT. Trump made absentee ballots one of the main issues of the election process, often raising doubt about the legitimacy of the process. But Jacob, a Newsday columnist, like millions of others who voted Democrat, was confident in the process.

"I know how they work. It's quite easy," Jacob said.

"I always send them through the US embassy diplomatic pouch so I know that they reach to the US. Trump’s uproar about banning absentee ballots only fed my determination to vote. He wasn’t going to disenfranchise me.

Jacob was elated with the result.

"I am thrilled with Joe Biden’s win. Party politics aside, those of us who voted for Biden consider this to be is a victory for the values we stand for: decency, equality, truth and justice. Trump’s accomplishments meant nothing to me because of how he divided Americans. He destroyed people's reputations, discounted science, mismanaged covid19. Truth was a stranger to him."

Now is an exciting time, Jacob said.

"(Harris') mixed ethnicity and her background of having immigrant parents give her a unique position of being an American who must be mindful of immigrant issues. I know personally when you are the child of immigrants, as I was.

Jacob's Romanian mother immigrated to the US from Germany after World War II. "Your world (as an immigrant) is coloured in a different way. You are aware of marginalisation and being different. You strive to fit in and you have a greater understanding of minority issues on a whole new level. This combines for empathy on a whole different level."

Sunday Newsday asked Jacob to speak on Harris's former role as a prosecutor, which was at times controversial for her heavy-handed approach.

"In many ways, I think Harris is in a pivotal position to look at the task ahead and measure it against her past experiences as a prosecutor.

"We all know that prison in the US is a substitute for slavery. It has been written about in famous books like The New Jim Crow. As a former prosecutor who is now a politician at a high level, I expect her to address that prison problem in the US and hopefully set an example for us in the Caribbean."

While there is much work for Democrats to do to mend social divisions, Trump did serve a purpose, she said.

"I think Trump helped us to realise how many issues in terms of racism, women’s rights and minority rights have been suppressed in the US.

"It came out in a bitter, nasty manner because Trump encouraged it. President-elect Biden and Vice President (elect) Harris have a lot of work to do to heal what might be irreparable damage. Clearly, we need better education that teaches people to value facts and understand prejudice.

"It is a hard road because Trump supporters are going to dig their heels in. We don’t have the Senate so the Republicans will oppose everything, but I remember something Coretta Scott King said when she was asked if the struggle for civil rights could possibly continue after Martin Luther King’s assassination. She said civil rights is a struggle for every generation. We cannot look to Biden and Harris to fix this. This is our struggle. We have to accept that."

Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley tweeted on Saturday: "America has spoken and the world is inspired. The people and Government of Barbados warmly congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and his Vice President Elect Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of colour to hold that position.

"I am sure that we in the Caribbean will look forward with optimism to working with the new administration to confront a number of global issues from the awful pandemic to the climate crisis to the pursuit of racial justice.

"There is much work for the world to do if we are to lift up our people across the globe to fight these issues that know no boundaries but require character and leadership to defeat them."

Meanwhile, Jamaica prime minister Andrew Holness tweeted, "I extend congratulations to the President and Vice President-elects of the United States, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. America will have its first female Vice President in the person of Kamala Harris, and we are proud that she bears Jamaican heritage.

"Her ascension to this role is a win for women all over the world and I salute her. We look forward to working with the new administration."

St Lucia prime minister issued a statement, saying, "I have been watching along with you and the rest of the world, the elections in the United States. The results indicate that the American people have decided that Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris will be their leaders.

"On behalf of the Government and People of Saint Lucia I congratulate the President-elect and Vice President-elect. The United States has long been a friend to Saint Lucia and we very much look forward to that relationship continuing. Initiatives important to our mutual interests include economic prosperity, climate change and security.