Kamala Harris, Unlocking Our Potential
This morning when I woke up in Paris, I kissed my son while he slept as I do every morning and checked on my phone what had transpired in the world. With delight, I read that it was official that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won! More than that, we, the United States of America now have a chance to rebuild ourselves and find our lost soul, while helping the world get back on track and undo the damage done, ie Climate Change. I thought about Kamala, the first woman to the hold office of VP and a woman of color. A role model for women around the world in so many respects. Many years ago, she was a girl my brothers played with, and that my father would play a role in her path to greatness.
My thoughts turned to my father, Henry Ramsey jr., who passed away a few years ago. My father grew up during the Jim Crow era in the 1930’s in a rural impoverished southern town, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. In 1951, he joined the Air Force as an opportunity to escape poverty and travel the world; however, what he found was a close friend and mentor, Jesse Suggs, who inspired him to aspire to his potential. Thus, my father carried this on through his life and work, as a pioneering civil rights attorney, a UC Berkeley law professor, the Dean of Howard Law School, and a Superior Court judge, to help people realize their potential and inspire them to achieve their dreams. And Kamala Harris was one of those individuals as were many others when I was growing up.... She was part of a new generation of ambitious women of color that could take advantage of the new opportunities provided by the freedom of struggles that came from the civil rights movement of the 1960’s.
My father was friends with Kamala Harris’s late mother, Shyamala, whom he met at the University of California at Berkeley in the 60’s where he was a law student and she was one in biology. They were both part of a Black student intellectual teach-in group called The Afro-American Association along with other folks like Ron Dellums, Willie Brown, Don Warden, and Ken Simmons. Through that friendship that continued as their kids grew up and played together, my father offered to help Shyamala’s daughter, Kamala, the best he could. Among other things, he helped her get into The University of California, Hastings College of Law school, as a judge he swore her into the California Bar, and he recommended her for a job at the Alameda County District of Attorney’s office. Behind the scenes he was there at pivotal points in her rise to make an introduction or offer his advice. In short, he believed in her and saw her potential.
As a female entrepreneur and one of color, I understand that this type of help is precious especially with the many obstacles that stand against us. And Kamala was one of those many prodigies that my father helped that was able to achieve her dreams, to rise to the Senate and then to one of the highest offices in our nation, the office of the Vice President of the United States of America. The Lesson that should be learned is to never hesitate to help the next generation because you never know who the next Barack Obama or Kamala Harris will be.
I wish that my father could be here to witness this historic moment.... Fortunately, he was present when Barack Obama was inaugurated. Though he cannot be there in body, I know he will be there in spirit to to see Kamala sworn in as Vice President and maybe someday… He would be so proud of what she has accomplished and the doors she has opened for other women and women of color to follow. I am so proud of her accomplishments.You did it Kamala! Inspiring the next generation of young girls to achieve their dreams...
