By Kaleigh Werner, EIC Lifestyle
Photo courtesy of usnews.com
A panel of Black women in journalism discussed how Vice President Kamala Harris’ race and gender is being singled out as the primary topic of discussion surrounding her in her new role.
The four journalists spoke on Wednesday, February 24th at 7 p.m. EST at the “VP Kamala Harris’ First 100 Days” event. Jesse Holland, the moderator, proposed questions to them regarding her position in changing news and politics. This event was cosponsored by SMPA and Black Women Unmuted, as a part of Black Heritage Month. The panel was held virtually over a Zoom video call where viewers were able to submit questions during the discussion for the panelists.
Shawna Thomas, panelist and executive producer for CBS This Morning, explained that not all conversation needs to be framed around these two things. “It encourages a playbook of what Black women would do, not just what Kamala Harris is doing,” she said.
Thomas talked about her being used as a “unicorn” in the media, someone who is newsworthy based on their race. In this case, the vice president’s increased visibility is not typical of any other especially before she has had a chance to get anything done.
The panel agreed that the vice president, a woman of color, was defining achievement for all women and she deserved recognition for this. Errin Haines, panelist and founding editor for The 19th, said, “Normalizing women leadership is a remarkable shift for our democracy.” However, the vice president’s race and gender didn’t mean that all of her actions would be the same of any other Black woman vice president. The former men in her position weren’t being generalized or used as a model for what the rest of white men would do.
Additionally, Thomas argued that while the conversation around the vice president should address issues of racism and sexism that Black women face, journalists don’t need to protect her from any criticisms she is getting on these accounts. Thomas said, “We still should ask her the hard questions on her policy… Our job is not to coddle Kamala Harris.” She explained that it was never a question on whether she was qualified or prepared to take on this position as a Black woman. Instead, the work she does within the administration should be the topic of the conversation.
Another panelist, Sonya Ross, a former journalist for the Associated Press and the Editor in Chief for Black Women Unmuted, agreed with Thomas and pointed to another issue. Ross explained that the vice president was always ready to take on this role. However, it’s the rest of the country that still isn’t ready to see leadership in different demographics of people. Ross talked about how this could affect the vice president’s influence within the administration. She posed the question, “Will the administration fall back on their lack of readiness or will they trust her?”
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ran with the notion that they would be working as equal partners over the next four years. From what Ayesha Rascoe, panelist and White House reporter for NPR, has seen recently, the president and vice president have been side by side the whole time. Rascoe said she was present at the first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. She said that the vice president was allowed to speak at the meeting as well which was way more than what former Vice President Pence was given the privilege of doing. As of now, Rascoe noted that the agreement for her to be involved in everything was being upheld.
