Black History

Sen. Kamala Harris Officially Enters the 2020 Presidential Race with Bold Morality

NNPA NEWSWIRE — A graduate of Howard University and a member of the AKA sorority, Harris’ rollout has been the most methodically of anyone who has entered the 2020 sweepstakes. Right down to the typography and campaign slogans, which are in the style of the historic 1970s campaign of the first Black woman ever elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm, Sen. Harris’ rollout has reached for clarity.

Published

6 years ago

January 30, 2019

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

“We are here at this moment in time because we must answer a fundamental question. Who are we? Who are we as Americans? So, let’s answer that question, America. We are better than this,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said in front of a large crowd in Oakland, California on the afternoon of January 27.

In a much-anticipated announcement, the Senator from California and former Attorney General officially announced she was a candidate for the presidency in 2020. Seven days before, on ABC’s Good Morning America, she made it clear she was in the race. In what many say was one of her best speeches to date in front of a presidential-size crowd she made it official.

A graduate of Howard University and a member of the AKA sorority, Harris’ rollout has been the most methodically of anyone who has entered the 2020 sweepstakes. Right down to the typography and campaign slogans, which are in the style of the historic 1970s campaign of the first Black woman ever elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm, Sen. Harris’ rollout has reached for clarity.

In the age of Donald Trump’s politics that clarity and focus on morals was made clear by the 54-year old attorney and U.S. Senator. Harris used the word “we” a lot during her speech. It was a clear indication of the type of campaign she plans to run.

“Of the people, by the people, and for all people,” Harris said, “People are trying to convince us that the villain in our American story is each other. But that is not our story. That is not who we are.”

While Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have announced exploratory committees that will likely lead to an official presidential run. Sen. Harris is now in the 2020 race all the way. In the first 24 hours after confirming she would run seven days ago on television her campaign raised $1.5 million.

Harris joins the biggest and most diverse field of candidates in the history of American politics.

“One of the huge tests for Kamala Harris was whether she could translate all that’s compelling about her on paper, go onto a stage and deliver a retail political speech that’s compelling and resonant. Hard to argue she didn’t do that today,” wrote MSNBC host Joy Reid on January 28 on twitter.

On the same day, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz talked on 60 Minutes about a presidential run. There were also reports that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not ruled out a run in 2020.

But Harris’ name recognition and charisma will likely giver her an advantage as the first candidate outside of the baby boomer generation whose candidacy is a reminder of the historic and successful 2008 run of former President Barack Obama.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.