City Government

Oakland Native Kamala Harris Gets Groundswell of Support in Bid for U.S. President

In a one-two punch kicked off by President Joe Biden’s announcement last weekend that he would not seek a second term, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made history again when Biden designated her to replace him on the ticket this fall. The Oakland native, Howard University graduate, and AKA soror who became the first Black female elected to the office of California attorney general and then U.S. senator became the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history when she was elected four years ago.

Published

10 months ago

August 6, 2024

Oakland Post

Kamala Devi Harris is the 49th vice president of the United States. Biography.com photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland native, Howard University graduate, and AKA soror who became the first Black female elected to the office of California attorney general and then U.S. senator became the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history when she was elected four years ago.

By Monday night, she had secured the support of nearly 2,000 Democratic delegates, meeting the minimum to clinch the nomination for the highest office in the land the DNC convention next month.
She is the first Black woman and first Asian to be on the road to the White House.

On Sunday, a pre-scheduled Zoom call with ‘Win With Black Women,’ a group of activists and influencers, drew an audience of 44,000 that raised $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign, setting a fund-raising record, which was nearly matched the next day when 53,000 joined a Win With Black Men virtual event and raised $1.3 million.

Latinas, Asian and white women were also holding virtual events to back Harris this week, while GOP leaders have had to chastise their cohorts about making racist, sexist and misogynistic statements about her.
Her candidacy brought a resurgence of enthusiasm in the presidential race as poll after poll showed that Biden had an uphill road to victory against Republican nominee, former President Donald J. Trump.
Besides the necessity to continue galvanize support by touting the victories of hers and Biden’s Administration, Harris has to find a running mate that can seal the deal in November.

According to CBS News, multiple sources say “that the list of candidates includes several governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Biden Cabinet members Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are also being considered, along with among others.

Many California office Democrats swiftly supported Harris as well. Among them were Sen. Alex Padilla; Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee; and mayors Karen Bass and London Breed, of Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively.

Lee, who supported Harris four years ago when Harris was running for president herself, said “Vice President Harris is the best person to communicate the Biden-Harris administration’s wins of the last four years, unite the party, and remind people what is at stake with a Donald Trump presidency. I was an early supporter of Vice President Harris when she ran for Senate in 2016 and for the presidency in 2020. President Biden knew she would be equipped to be a great president, that’s why he chose her to run alongside him.”

On Sunday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed called on city leaders to unify around Harris, saying civil rights for LGBTQ people, women and people of color are in peril if Democrats lose the White House.
“We cannot mess around with this opportunity; there is so much at stake,” she said. “I wish I could travel to battleground states and just go across the country and help elect Kamala Harris and whoever the vice presidential nominee will be so that we can continue to move our country, and especially our city here locally, in the right direction.”

Wikipedia, Politico, CBS News, KQED, The American Presidency Project, YouTube and X were sources for this report.

@PaulCobbOakland @PostNewsGroup @POTUS @VP @HowardU @realDonaldTrump @JoshShapiroPA @NC_Govenor

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Knot Our Kidz: Monee Brown is on a Mission to Keep Your Children Safe

Don't Miss

Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces $600 Million Gift to Historically Black Medical Schools

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

4 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.