Kamala Harris - The African Mirror

Nov

2020

From women to migrants: What does a Biden win mean for Africa?

NITA BHALLA DEMOCRAT Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. presidential election is set to affect Africa's 1.3 billion people on issues ranging from climate change and immigration to women's health and human rights, according to academics and analysts. Under the Trump administration, the United States pulled out of the landmark Paris climate accord, issued travel bans on Muslim-majority nations, and cut aid to charities providing reproductive health services that included abortion advice. The Thomson Reuters Foundation asked activists, academics and analysts how a Biden administration could impact Africa's 54 nations. DAVID KODE, HEAD OF ADVOCACY, CIVICUS "Civil society groups in…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Prayers of gratitude for election of ‘daughter of India’ Harris as U.S. VP

WORLD

SUDARSHAN VARADHAN INDIANS burst firecrackers and offered prayers of gratitude over the election of Kamala Harris as the next U.S. vice president, declaring it a proud moment for Indian-Americans. Harris, born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, both of whom immigrated to the United States to study, made history by becoming the first woman to win election to the post. At her ancestral village in southern India, about 14,000 km (8,700 miles) from Washington D.C., children clutched posters of Harris as people gathered at a Hindu temple to thank the gods for the victory that she and President-elect…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Kamala Harris breaks barriers as America’s next vice president

WORLD

JAMES OLIPHANT KAMALA Harris made history with her election as Joe Biden's vice president, becoming the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American to win the second highest U.S. office. Harris, 56, is widely seen as an obvious candidate for the Democratic Party nomination in 2024 should Biden, who will be 78 at their inauguration on Jan. 20, decide not to seek a second term. She hasn't weighed in publicly on such speculation. Edison Research and the major U.S. television networks on Saturday projected their victory, based on unofficial final results, even though the incumbent president, Republican Donald…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Kamala Harris inspires women leaders in her ancestral Indian village

WORLD

MORE than 8,000 miles (12,870 km) from Washington, Indian women have been rooting for the "America lady" in the village of U.S. vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris's grandfather. As locals in Thulasendrapuram's temple held special prayers for a Democratic win in the Nov. 3 election, 34-year-old M. Umadevi - who was elected to the village council in December - said she related to Harris as a fellow woman politician. "She is a daughter of our village," said Umadevi, who has a five-year-old son and sews clothes to support the income of her husband, a driver. "This must have been difficult…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

America’s inflection point: four key things Africa must watch for

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOHN J STREMLAU, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand AFRICAN scholars and policymakers face a tough challenge in analysing how the US presidential election on 3 November might affect Africa-US relations. This is because of the extreme polarisation of politics that has been growing for decades in the US. Simultaneous national crises have made matters worse. These suddenly erupted over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the economy, and fresh evidence of white racism towards black Americans. In deeply divided America, four clusters of political political conflicts arise over issues of national identity, sustainable…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Four takeaways from Day Three of the Democratic National Convention

WORLD

JAMES OLIPHANT THE third night of the Democratic National Convention featured a lineup of high-wattage political star power: former President Barack Obama, 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and, lastly, 2020 vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Here are takeaways from Wednesday's program: THE BATTLE IS JOINED It was a night set aside for Harris' history-making turn as the first Black woman and Asian American on a major U.S. presidential ticket, but Obama's blistering indictment of President Donald Trump left the biggest mark. Dispensing with any notion of civility between those who have held the office, Obama painted his successor as a…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

How Kamala Harris found the political identity that had eluded her

WORLD

JAMES OLIPHANT MONTHS after her presidential campaign collapsed amid questions over her political identity, Kamala Harris suddenly and forcefully found her voice – and at a fortuitous time. Harris, a 55-year-old U.S. senator from California, was chosen by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate on Tuesday, making history as the first Black woman and Asian-American on a major presidential ticket. Her selection came as little surprise. With the United States in the midst of a reckoning over its history of racial injustice, Biden had increasingly been pressed to select a woman of color. Harris, who became the…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Black activists praise Biden’s pick of Harris, but warn challenges remain

BUSINESS

MICHAEL MARTINA and TREVOR HUNNICUTT DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Joe Biden's pick of Kamala Harris as his running mate showed his commitment to Black voters, African-American activists said, but they warned it would not guarantee him the support he needs to win. In choosing Harris to be the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket in U.S. history, Biden signalled to activists he was heeding the lessons of 2016 when the first decline of Black voter turnout in 20 years helped Republican President Donald Trump win the White House. Some prominent Black political operatives had urged Biden to choose…