Feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem praised former Vice President Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate Thursday, calling Black women “the heart and soul of the Democratic Party.”
“In naming Kamala Harris as his vice president, Biden has recognized that black women, 96% of whom voted for Hillary Clinton, are the heart and soul of the Democratic Party,” the Ms. Magazine co-founder said in a statement to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Steinem acknowledged Harris’s Indian and Jamaican heritage, saying “for the first time on a national ticket, [Biden] also has represented both African Americans and Indian Americans who together, make up 24 percent of this country.”
Harris, Steinem wrote, “is both a great governing partner and someone who is ready to serve on Day One.”
“In 1972, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm single-handedly took the ‘white male only’ sign off the White House door,” Steinem added, referring to the New York congresswoman who was the first Black woman to run for the presidency. “It’s high time that door opened to democracy.”
Biden, after pledging during the primaries to name a woman his vice president, announced Harris as his selection Tuesday. She is the first woman of color on a major-party ticket and only the fourth woman in general.
The Biden campaign says in the 24 hours following the announcement, it broke its single-day fundraising record with a $26 million haul.