In her keynote address delivered at the 2019 Essence Festival, Vice President Kamala Harris made a significant appeal to black women in America, advocating for their community needs while skillfully sidestepping questions revolving around Joe Biden. While the main theme of her speech revolved around economic empowerment and eliminating the pervasive racial wealth gap, Harris didn’t fail to recognize and address the crucial role played by black women in shaping American history and society.
Harris, the first woman of African and South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency of America, has always been a vocal supporter of black women’s rights and their empowerment. During the Essence festival, she expressed her commitment to reducing the wage gap for black women by pushing for policies that promote equal pay. The Californian senator steered clear of directing comments about her competition with Joe Biden for the presidential candidacy, focusing primarily on issues directly affecting her audience.
One of the more prominent issues she described was the acute racial wealth gap in America. Harris argued that this wealth gap had roots in a history of discriminatory practices, such as the denial of government-backed home loans. She highlighted how lack of access to capital caused black businesses, particularly those owned by black women, to suffer.
To address this, Harris proposed a $100 billion housing plan aimed at black homeowners. The plan would provide homebuyers who have lived or worked in historically redlined communities with a down payment and closing cost assistance of up to $25,000. She believes this policy could potentially help up to four million homes within these communities.
On top of this, Harris also wants to invest in black entrepreneurship and businesses. To this end, she called for an additional $12 billion to be set aside for capital grants for startups and small businesses owned by black women. She acknowledged how black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs yet face impediments in acquiring loans to jump-start or maintain their businesses.
Even as she advocated for these economic policies, Harris did not miss out on drawing attention to black women’s political power. She reminded her audience that black women were integral to the civil rights movement and continue to be a potent force in contemporary American politics. However, she refrained from commenting on then-candidate Joe Biden, choosing rather to keep the focus on issues that directly impacted black women.
Amid her push for these policies, Harris emphasized that these were not handouts but much-deserved acknowledgments of a society that has allowed an unjust wealth inequality to persist for so long. She sought to honor the essential role of black women in building the nation’s economy.
In coming forward with a concrete economic plan for black communities in America, Harris made an important pledge to support economic equity and the empowerment of black women. By maintaining a clear focus on their needs and sidestepping political rivalry, she showed herself to be an ardent advocate of substantial change, encapsulating her vision for a fairer America.