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‘We’re in a different moment’: Professor explains why identity of VP Harris matters more this election
Duchess Harris, a professor of American Studies at Macalester College, serves on the project advisory board for The Kamala Harris Project.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Kamala Harris — the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee — is all over the news. But long before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Duchess Harris was paying close attention to the vice president.
Duchess Harris, a professor of American Studies at Macalester College, serves on the project advisory board for The Kamala Harris Project.
Professor Harris and 15 other nonpartisan academics have been tracking Harris’ tenure as vice president as the nation’s first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American in the position.
“A lot of people were not focusing on her because people did not think this moment was going to happen,” said Professor Harris. “So what I think is going to be really interesting is how she will now be vetted in a way that she was not vetted four years ago.”
After President Biden’s announcement on Sunday morning that he would be dropping out of the race, VP Harris’ supporters quickly mobilized.
Sunday night, an estimated 90,000 Black women and allies took part in a Win with Black Women Zoom call. 40,000 logged onto the Zoom call which hit capacity and another 50,000 people streamed on other platforms. In three hours, the event raised $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign.
“What it does is help Americans that might have been surprised by that understand what Black women have been doing for the last 50 years, actually maybe 60 years. So this has just been a buildup of what has been many peoples’ lives work,” Professor Harris said.
Professor Harris’ academic work includes the book “Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Trump.”
“My scholarship really explains to people that Black women are the most loyal voting bloc within the Democratic Party. For instance, 94% of Black women voted for Hillary Clinton, and white women were divided and divided so much that more white women voted for Donald Trump than they voted for Hillary Clinton,” Professor Harris explained.
She also explained how the concept “linked fate” can help people better understand voting behavior patterns.
“What it does is show that women of different races vote in a way that supports their entire family… so who your fate is linked to. So Black women will ask, ‘How does this impact my father? My husband? My son?’ What we have found is that Black men will not say, ‘How will this impact my wife?’ But we think now with Vice President Harris, that will be changing,” Professor Harris said.
Monday night, in response to Sunday night’s fundraising, more than 53,000 attendees logged on to a “Win with Black Men” event. More than $1.3 million was raised over four hours for the Kamala Harris campaign.
“That also is really unprecedented. When Shirley Chisholm said that she was going to run for president in 1972, only two Black men in Congress said that they would support her,” Professor Harris said.
It’s been eight years since Hillary Clinton made history — the first time a major party had nominated a woman for president.
“We’re in a different moment than when Hillary was running because we are post-Dobbs. So people are going to be thinking about a woman presidency differently,” Professor Harris said.
And for those who think VP Harris’ identity should be left out of the conversation, Professor Harris said, “Colorblind does not work when you go to cast your vote. It just does not. So it works in both directions. There were African Americans who had never voted, who came out to vote because Barack Obama was running for presidency. So in that way, it mattered. But the way that it also can matter is that there were women, including as I said white women, who would not vote for Hillary because they didn’t want a woman president,” Professor Harris said. “So race does matter. Gender does matter. I understand that people want us to get past it, but we have not gotten past it.”
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
