https://www.essence.com/news/african-american-policy-forum-vp-nomination-kamala-harris/

During a dynamic panel Thursday morning, “From the Base to the Face of the Democratic Party: Kamala Harris, Black Women, & Misogynoir,” six Black women joined together for a robust conversation breaking down a historic night for Sen. Harris (D-California), the first Black woman to be nominated for vice-president of a major political party.

Harris accepted her nomination Wednesday night—Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention—standing behind a podium at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Reporters stood the appropriate social distance away documenting the moment for posterity; but, Kimberlé Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, noticed something missing in the post-Convention coverage: Black women’s voices.

“Already a pattern has developed in which Black women who are journalists, elected officials, and academics serve as informants to conversations in which they are underrepresented,” Crenshaw said in statement. “It was past time to bring Black women together to discuss the politics, the election, Kamala Harris’ historic run, and the intersections of race and gender playing out in the Presidential campaign.”

Crenshaw, the creator of the #SayHerName campaign, gathered Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Barbara R. Arnwine (president and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition), Donna Brazile (veteran Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor and author), Kimberly M. Foxx (State’s Attorney for Cook County, Illinois), and Kirsten West Savali (executive producer at ESSENCE Magazine) to discuss.

TOPSHOT – Senator from California and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention, being held virtually amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware on August 19, 2020. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

The dialogue, situated firmly within the historic and future implications of the senator’s nomination, ranged from the misogynoir that Harris faces to the progressive critique of her candidacy, to a deep dive into the politics of representation.

From the Combahee River Collective to Shirley Chisholm to the isolation that Black women in power too often feel, each woman brought her unique perspective to a conversation that was long overdue.

.@sandylocks: “If Black women don’t reclaim this moment, if we don’t counter-galvanize against a mainstream discourse that would make Harris’ candidacy nothing more than a symbol, then this moment is a loss. We are determined to have our say.” #whenblackwomenenter #DNC2020

— African American Policy Forum (@AAPolicyForum) August 20, 2020

Watch the powerful discussion below:

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