(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) – In the section of her speech on Wednesday night to the Democratic National Convention where she slammed President Trump’s “failed leadership,” Kamala Harris told Americans, “We are a nation that is grieving — grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities, the loss of normalcy. And yes, the loss of certainty.”
She said the coronavirus pandemic has caused disproportionate suffering and death among Black, Latino and Indigenous people, and she blamed “structural racism,” exemplified in part by “the excessive use of force by police.”
The disproportionate suffering of minorities “is not a coincidence,” Harris said.
“It is the effect of structural racism — of inequities in education and technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation. The injustice in reproductive and maternal health care. In the excessive use of force by police. And in our broader criminal justice system.”
(Note: Harris once headed California’s criminal justice system as the state’s attorney general.)
“This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other — and how we treat each other,” Harris continued.
And let’s be clear: There is no vaccine for racism. We’ve got to do the work. For George Floyd. For Breonna Taylor. For the lives of too many others to name. For our children. For all of us. We’ve got to do the work to fulfill that promise of equal justice under law. Because none of us are free until all of us are free.
We’re at an inflection point. The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing: We can do better and deserve so much more.
Sen. Kamala Harris, now Joe Biden’s running mate, addresses the Democrat National Convention. (Photo: Screen capture)
Harris was speaking live to a mostly empty room, and when she accepted the vice presidential nomination, there was no applause, just silence.
‘Beloved community’
In the second half of her speech, Harris praised Joe Biden as the man who “will bring us together.”
Joe will bring us together to build an economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind. Where a good-paying job is the floor, not the ceiling. Joe will bring us together to end this pandemic and make sure that we are prepared for the next one.
Joe will bring us together to squarely face and dismantle racial injustice, furthering the work of generations. Joe and I believe that we can build that Beloved Community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves.
That’s the vision that our parents and grandparents fought for. The vision that made my own life possible. The vision that makes the American promise — for all its complexities and imperfections — a promise worth fighting for.
Make no mistake, the road ahead will not be not easy. We will stumble. We may fall short. But I pledge to you that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly. We will speak truths. And we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us.
We believe that our country — all of us, will stand together for a better future. We already are.
We see it in the doctors, the nurses, the home health care workers and the frontline workers who are risking their lives to save people they’ve never met.
We see it in the teachers and truck drivers, the factory workers and farmers, the postal workers and the poll workers, all putting their own safety on the line to help us get through this pandemic.
And we see it in so many of you who are working, not just to get us through our current crises, but to somewhere better.
(Note: In her list of exceptional workers, Harris did not mention police, some of whom have been killed or injured in the recent effort to protect their communities from violent mobs.)
At the end of her speech, where she urged Americans to “fight” for “the America we know is possible,” Harris said: “In this election, we have a chance to change the course of history. We’re all in this fight. You, me, and Joe — together. What an awesome responsibility. What an awesome privilege.”
