WILL THE REAL KAMALA PLEASE STAND UP

Kamala Harris is not only a polished politician but also a shrewd lawyer with an impressive array of credentials. A first-generation American born in Oakland, she attended Howard University, pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, and worked in the DA’s Office in San Francisco before becoming District Attorney (DA) of San Francisco, Attorney General (AG) of California, and now a U.S. Senator. Clearly, she has dedicated her life to public service. But despite her impressive resume, she reminds me of a cubic zirconia—big and flashy but ultimately fake.

My first doubts about Harris arose during the Kavanaugh hearings. On the second day of Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony, Harris began questioning him about the Mueller investigation. Her demeanor suggested she had something significant on Kavanaugh. I remember standing in front of the TV, excited to see a Black woman challenging the Judge. With my hands on my hips and my mouth open, I waited eagerly.

Harris asked, “Judge Kavanaugh, have you ever discussed Special Counsel Mueller or his investigation with anyone?” Kavanaugh appeared flustered, stuttering and listing possible contacts. Harris pressed further, “Are you sure?” with an authoritative expression and a smirk that seemed to say, “I’ve got you.” But it turned out she was merely putting on a show.

When I first heard that Harris might run for president, I was excited. However, after the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, I had my doubts. I decided to research her background and found some troubling information. She was propelled into the political arena by Willie Brown, a man twice her age with whom she had an extramarital affair. This raised questions about her moral character, especially given the current president’s own ethical shortcomings.

Further scrutiny of her career as DA and AG of California only deepened my concerns. Harris supported three-strike laws and, as DA, dismissed 600 drug cases because her office failed to inform defense attorneys about a crime lab technician, Debbie Madden, who had a history of tampering with evidence and a prior conviction. In 2015, Harris opposed legislation requiring investigations into police shootings. When California faced a Supreme Court case over prison overcrowding, Harris argued that prisoners were essential for labor and fighting wildfires.

Despite her claims of being a liberal, Harris’s actions contradict her stated values. Her consensual affair with a married man for political advancement undermines the #MeToo movement and questions her merit. She misled the public on LGBT issues, falsely claiming that the Supreme Court overturned Proposition 8, which sought to define marriage as between a man and a woman, when the court had actually sent the decision back to the state. She has also been inconsistent on the death penalty, opposing it while previously arguing in favor of it in 2014. Most troubling to me is her treatment of Black issues; her record shows a disregard for Black lives, even as she panders to African Americans for our votes.

Last night, Harris donned her Senate uniform and shifted into the role of a full-blooded African American woman. She appeared with Mary J. Blige, using African American sermon techniques, speaking in clichés, quoting Black songs, and acting as if she’d spent her entire life in Oakland among African Americans. She omitted her years of growing up in Canada and didn’t mention that her parents were elite Democrats, instead referring to them as immigrants who supported civil rights. In other words, Harris portrayed herself as just another African American woman.

Her performance was excellent. She really sold the crowd, and to further solidify her newly crafted African American image, her spokesperson appeared on MSNBC and repeatedly emphasized that Kamala Harris is African American, almost ten times in a two-minute clip. It was then it occurred to me that Kamala Harris will not hesitate to shift into any position that suits her goals, regardless of the cost. She played the role of the mistress to secure prominent government positions, and once she landed those roles, she stopped playing the part. She wanted to be seen as a strong prosecutor, so she eagerly donned the tough prosecutor persona. She had no reservations about incarcerating countless African Americans. In fact, she even supported a truant law that would have disproportionately imposed prison sentences and fines on minorities.

Since 2016, she has become the female version of President Barack Obama. But last night, she emerged as an African American woman raised in Oakland, who attended Howard and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha. Harris is essentially telling African Americans that she’s aligned with our struggles.

Her mistake, of course, was not doing her homework before attempting to play the African American role. Had she done her research, she would have realized that African Americans don’t vote based solely on race. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are clear examples of this fact. Don’t get me wrong, I understand her message—she can use the term African American to identify herself, after all, her father is Jamaican, and Jamaicans have African roots, so technically, she can be considered African American. But theoretically, it’s not that simple.

I made the decision to cast a “no” vote for Harris because, given her background and her apparent tendency to shift into beneficial positions for political gain, I find her too disingenuous for my taste.