She’s already broken barriers, and now Kamala Harris could shatter several more after President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid and endorsed her.
Biden announced Sunday that he was stepping aside after a disastrous debate performance catalyzed fears that the 81-year-old was too frail for a second term.
Harris is the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. If she becomes the Democratic nominee and defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in November, she would be the first woman to serve as president.
Biden said Sunday that choosing Harris as his running mate was “the best decision I’ve made” and endorsed her as his successor.
And first Indian or non-white President as well. Don’t know why people have trouble saying that.
Bro…seriously?
Obama was equal parts white and black
Bro…did you not know?
He doesn’t know everybody. Let’s let him figure this out on his own and see if his brain explodes.
I suppose you’re saying that since Obama’s mother was white that makes him part-white, but that’s not really how race works in the US. Maybe it should be that way, maybe it shouldn’t, but right now it doesn’t.
Sure it does. It also makes him half-black. It also makes Kamala Harris the first non-white President in US history.
I suggest you look up the history of race relations in the US and how we used to categorize whites and non-whites for legal purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_whiteness_in_the_United_States
Why does Obama’s white mother determine how you refer to him instead of his black father, I wonder
I wonder if you don’t understand the phrase “non-white”. Do you get that concept, or are you a glass half full kind of racist?
Why doesn’t Obama’s blackness count? Does a little whiteness trump all his blackness for you?
Do you see how fucking stupid this is yet? Everyone understands what you’re saying. It’s just dumb as fuck. Obama identifies as black. The country sees him as black. Many black folk identify him as black. You calling him white is a self-report by you.
So to be extra simple about it, she’d be the first yellow-brown, where as Obama was white-brown.
In terms of american racism its just the brown part that matters, that makes them both “black” and there was even past comments about Harris not being “black enough” or something to that effect.
It makes more sense to call her the first Asian America that might be president if you want a “first” to claim.
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if she gets to the white house, I think it will be proudly said many, many more times.
This what i heard on the BBC.
edit: they said, “Indian-American”
Right? Not hearing this in the US.
to be fair, i’m in the US. i heard it on the BBC Global News Podcast ;)
i like to hear global takes on our
dumpster firedomestic eventsI just meant from US outlets. Everyone is focusing on either female, or black components. She’s a fucking person, CNN, just address all the things, FFS. If anything, that should lock in MORE votes, so I hope the campaign is out front and center making this a thing.
if i were to speculate, it’s because Biden heavily carried the black vote in 2020 and that has been majorly slipping this time around-- something the DNC is very much hoping to capture with a Harris nomination. Now, I’m no pollster, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that works.
many voters don’t know that she’s of Indian heritage and just incorrectly assume she’s of African ancestry. Presumably, that’s why there hasn’t been much of a public effort to make a correction.
She wasn’t carrying the black vote when she ran in the 2020 primary. Her record shows her to be staunchly pro establishment. She wasn’t progressive as a prosecutor or as Attorney General, she opposed and obstructed police reform in California when she was in the best position to get anything done. Maybe black voters will ultimately back her if she gets nominated but her support among black voters isn’t a good argument for nominating her because it isn’t strong.
Oh, I totally agree. It’s just disappointing to see.
If she was Indian she wouldn’t be eligible to be president; they did say “South Asian decent” though.
And are you saying Obama was white? I must be missing something here.
It’s obviously meant as indian-american.
So some words we’re going to take strictly literally but some words were going to take with simple intention?
Why would you think she’s literally from India? What tf are you even talking about.
Did you also want to see Obamas Kenya birth certificate lol
I was talking about the poster I was replying to expecting people to take “non-white” in a very literal way, meanwhile using “Indian” in a non-literal way.
Like, who complains about a news outlet not referring to her as Indian when they did say “South Asian decent”?
Anyway, they’re no longer the top comment and have been downvoted appropriately, so I’m not really worried about it any more.
Sorry if I offended you, though. Wasn’t trying to be offensive.
Ah gotcha, I see what you mean now.
Oh no worries my friend. Same here.
I really have to stop going into political posts for a few months.
Enjoy your evening
There are TWO people in here not knowing something that should be known. What in the actual fuck.
Also, how old are you? I’d like to know so I can place my mental shame on whatever generation doesn’t know who is eligible to be president in the US. It makes me awfully sad.
Dude, it’s a matter of linguistics and ethnic identity. Everyone here knows Obama has a white mother. You’re just being intentionally combative and taking advantage of the fact that most people - including Obama himself - identify him as black.
Yes, I’m obviously being combative by pointing out that Kamala Harris is non-white, and would be the first such President and it’s a big deal, and then giving shit to the few who tried to bring up Obama and didn’t realize he was half white.
Figured this is what you meant. Imagine invoking the reverse One Drop Rule and thinking you have the superior position.
Yes, referring to Harris as the first “non-white President” somehow puts me in a position of power.
You drinking today?
bright spot. a bunch of readers knew exactly what you meant and went “huh! thats pretty cool.”
Thank you for being the optimist at the party. We need more of you just hanging around and bringing the right vibe to the conversation. 🥰
Again, this is just linguistics games. Obama is the first non-white president if your definition of “non-white” is something like, “A person whose ethnicity/ethnic identity is something other than white.” Assuming she wins, Harris will be the first non-white president if your definition of “non-white” is something like, “A person whose ancestry does not include any Caucasians.”
Or rather, she would be if her father didn’t have any Caucasian ancestry. But he does. You knew that, didn’t you? Didn’t you?
No, Obama was the first Black President, sure. But he was not the only non-white President.
Maybe to you, but it’s not. It’s a huge thing that she is the first non-white President. Nobody in the populous gives a shit what they identify as. In her case, she’s black and Indian, and any voters who identify with that will feel less disenfranchised about her winning.
What you’re describing is some weird Rachel Dolezol shit. Nobody wants that.
Oh, for fuck’s sake… No, what I’m describing is a logical problem with your statements.
First, let’s get this out of the way: Race is a social construct. We differentiate between “black” and “white” in large part because of racism. Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a lot about how without racism, we wouldn’t perceive each other as different because of such a tiny variation as the color of our skin, and I tend to think he’s right. Concepts of race, as opposed to minor genetic variance, are predicated on racism.
With that said, when you call someone “non-white,” you can mean it in the technical sense of not having Caucasian ancestry, which applies to neither Obama nor Harris (which I’m positive you didn’t know until now, since you’ve been calling her “non-white” in this sense), or you can mean it in the sense of a social construct, which applies to both Obama and Harris.
There is no definition of “non-white” that applies to one, but not the other. Both have some Caucasian ancestry. Both are perceived socially as non-white because of how their bodies express certain alleles. Pick one definition and stick to it.
And yet…you’re still wrong.