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Kamala Harris, who marked history by being selected as the first woman of African and South Asian descent to be elected vice president of the United States, holds profound sentiments about racial segregation. A significant part of these sentiments stems from her experience with busing school desegregation in the 1970s.
Born into a politically active family, Harris was raised to understand the value and power of education. However, as a young child, she faced the direct impacts of racial segregation in the mid-20th century. Like many other black children of her time, Harris benefited from the busing system that aimed to desegregate schools in America.
In the 1970s, the busing program was implemented as a desegregation tool for American education. The idea was straightforward: bus students across towns irrespective of their race, so they could learn in the same classrooms. The purpose was to eradicate racial imbalance in American schools by physically transporting black students from their local schools in minority regions to predominantly white schools.
Young Harris saw the benefits first-hand when she was bused to Thousand Oaks Elementary School as part of the second class to integrate the Berkeley public school system. This experience, which Harris often cites in her speeches, significantly shaped her views on racial issues and became a poignant part of her political career.
The debate around the effectiveness of the busing system is contentious. Critics of busing argue that the system uprooted black communities and decreased the quality of education for everyone involved. They also point out the resentment that busing generated among white families, which some historians argue further entrenched racist attitudes. Despite these criticisms, the busing system has been hailed as a brave and necessary step towards racial equality in America’s educational system.
For Harris, her personal experience with busing added complexity to her stance on racial issues. She maintained that busing was necessary during her time but now favors policies that support school integration without forced busing. Her view is that people should live in integrated communities and naturally have integrated schools, and that the government should take the initiative to tear down barriers that enable segregation instead of implementing forceful programs like busing to integrate schools.
Publicly, Harris has discussed her experiences and views on busing numerous times, most notably during a democratic presidential candidate debate in June 2019. In a heated conversation with Joe Biden, who had opposed busing during the 1970s, she famously said, “There was a little girl in California who was bussed to school. That little girl was me.” This powerful personal narrative not only reminded the country of the repercussions of segregation but also of the profound effects busing has had on the lives of countless people like Harris.
In summary, the busing school desegregation not only influenced the way Kamala Harris views racial issues but also helped shape her political career. Her lived experience as a beneficiary of busing has informed her advocacy for evolving strategies that promote racial integration and equality. Despite the controversy surrounding busing, it’s undeniable that its effects were far-reaching, impacting a generation of students and amplifying voices for racial justice, like that of Vice President Kamala Harris.