DUMMERSTON — We have arrived at another historic moment in the time of corona, and finally learned who Joe Biden has chosen to be his running mate.
The choices were dramatic as we waited to hear who among the infinitely qualified women would be the best to bolster the candidacy of one older white man running to replace another older white man.
This decision has become the strategic card played in a game with the highest stakes ever: whether the destruction of our democracy by Donald Trump can be averted, and whether the planet can be saved in time from the wildfires and melting arctic ice of climate change.
I am delighted that Senator Kamala Harris is now the most major player on the Biden team, second only to the candidate himself.
The revamping of America's institutions through a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and economic and social justice is needed now more than ever. Time is of the essence.
The final choice of Kamala, a woman of color, was not just a token matter - not the need to satisfy the Black female voters who are the bedrock of the Democratic Party, nor to simply appeal to the young people galvanized by George Floyd's brutal murder, which further fueled the passionate work of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The daughter of a Jamaican and an Indian immigrant, Kamala is the first female African American (and Asian American) vice presidential candidate.
As a former district attorney for San Francisco and attorney general for California, she had actively worked to change our justice system from the inside to a more compassionate response to crime.
She had shone during Senate hearings involving then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then–Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and Attorney General William Barr. With all the skill of a seasoned prosecutor, she put truth on the spot and wouldn't back down from the obfuscating tactics of anyone she questioned.
The moment I recall most vividly is when Jeff Sessions told her she was making him nervous as she grilled him about his contact with Russians during the Trump presidential campaign.
Her presence on the political stage is a pivotal opportunity to correct this ship heading farther into rocky waters.
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One of 20 candidates running last year for president of the United States, Kamala Harris stood out for me, and I wanted to believe that she indeed had the compassionate leadership qualities I felt we needed to counteract the current racist and misogynist incumbent.
So on a bright morning in April last year, I crossed the river to New Hampshire with great anticipation to attend a town-hall meeting with Kamala at Keene State College. The venue was a surprisingly small room in which the press seemed to be the most prominent members of the audience. With standing room only, I was delighted to wait a mere 20 feet away from the stage.
As the crowd grew restless, I talked to a young Hispanic father who had brought his two children to hear her. The younger daughter was so excited, and I could imagine the impression this event would make on her mind.
The father was trying to make a decision on whom he would vote for for president, and he wanted to believe, as I did, that she was the right candidate. Was she just another politician, or was she a compassionate person trying to make a difference and work within the system?
It was important to me to see with my own eyes the persona of Kamala and all that she was conveying. I wanted to not only hear her positions, but also listen to how she chose her words and her body language.
“We are an aspirational nation,” she told us, and she challenged us to pick up the torch from former civil rights activists. She told us that we are in this together and that “we are better than this.”
She was not buying the lies, the climate-change denial, the economic injustice of the current administration.
“I'm not buying it, I'm not buying it,” she said with increasing intensity. With one hand on her hip, like she was about to admonish a recalcitrant child, she gestured with her microphone.
“I'm not buying it,” she urged, “and we shouldn't either.”
* * *
Close to the stage, I happened to stand next to her husband, Douglas Emhoff, having recognized him from a photograph in her memoir. I could feel the solid support he gave her as he smiled, and she caught his eye from time to time.
But most of the time, she channeled the soul of the civil rights era, a time when her parents met fighting for social justice in Oakland, Calif. “I'm not buying it” became a mantra throughout her speech.
At the end of her fiery call to action, she stepped down from the stage, shook hands, and posed for selfies with young women who cradled their copies of her memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.
I had quickly read this book before seeing her in person, and I was delighted to learn of her activism within the criminal justice system. In particular, I was impressed with her Back on Track program, which she designed when she was San Francisco's district attorney to allow first-time, non-violent drug offenders a second chance through jobs and support.
I was also happy to know her stand against using the death penalty in the case of a police officer murdered in California. This was not a popular position, but she stood her ground in her conviction that the death penalty was wrong, just as she had claimed in her platform when she ran for district attorney. I admired her consistency in her moral conviction even at great personal expense.
As she came to the end of the receiving line where I stood, she paused from signing books. Inspired by her passion and dedication, I was determined to shake her hand, which seemed to open gracefully as a flower with each book-signing. (Ironically, kamala means “lotus” in Hindi.)
As I shook her hand, I gazed into her clear, wide-open eyes, and found the only words that came to mind: “Good luck, Kamala!”
She seemed nonplussed, and she replied with an all-inclusive response.
“Good luck to us all,” she said.
* * *
I was struck by the humility in that wish for the upcoming election. At that moment, I knew that her work as a politician was heartfelt and deeply compassionate.
Some will say that Kamala Harris is politically pragmatic and abundantly cautious, but she is still developing her political prowess, and I plan to closely watch this rising star.
We are all in this together, and she reminded me that we are carrying the torch of those who have gone before us as we get out the vote, go to vote, and choose wisely with our vote.
Kamala's charge to us to “be joyful warriors” - like John Robert Lewis, may he rest in peace, who risked his life to protect the right to vote during Jim Crow times - seems to be a great way to survive this era of deceit as we all carry hope toward the election of 2020.
And I am heartened by all the little girls of color who will see themselves in her shining example of intelligence, passion, dedication, and clarity of purpose.
We are at a historical moment in which we can choose leaders who will heal the divides in our nation and stitch back the spirit of our hope into one cloth of American diversity.
Good luck to us all.