Quick summary: President Biden's recent exit from the 2024 presidential race and subsequent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris have sparked record-setting fundraising and numerous articles about the VP’s track record on key issues, including abortion, the economy, and criminal justice. This newsletter delves into Kamala Harris’s personal and political background, featuring reporting from URL Media partners Capital B, Sahan Journal, and India Currents.
Kamala Harris speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 27, 2019. Credit: Gage Skidmore licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Flickr
Getting To Know Kamala Harris
Hey fam,This week has been a challenging one as we mourn the loss of Sonya Massey. The 36-year-old Black woman was shot and killed in her home by an Illinois sheriff’s deputy after she called 911 for help. Our hearts go out to her family and the community during this difficult time.
With President Joe Biden announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race last Sunday and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee just thirty minutes later, the vice president’s campaign has seen record-setting fundraising of over $81 million in the first 24 hours. This includes the intersectional and intergenerational #WinWithBlackWomen coalition, a virtual gathering of some 44,000 Black women, which raised $1 million on Sunday night immediately following Biden’s endorsement. The next day, more than 45,000 Black men convened online to rally for Harris’ candidacy raising $1.3 million. The next day, more than 45,000 Black men convened online to rally for Harris’ candidacy, raising $1.3 million. The trend continued into the week with a separate Zoom fundraising event for white women, where over 100,000 participants joined the call and raised nearly $2 million.
As some political strategists predict that Harris rising to the top of the Democratic Party presidential ticket so close to the election will energize and mobilize voters of color, some voters who recently spoke with Sahan Journal say they are “cautiously optimistic” about Harris and want more details on her policy. So, who is Kamala Harris, and can she really win?In this newsletter, we dive into Kamala Harris’s personal and political background, including where she stands on key issues affecting Black voters, criticisms she faces and more.
Featured Stories
Activists are protesting the police killing of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman shot by an Illinois deputy. Upcoming rallies include a march in Springfield, Illinois and NYC.URL Media has more →
In just 36 hours after President Joe Biden exited the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Now, Harris must select a running mate, with some suggesting that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo Native, should be considered.Native News Online has more →
“Police perceived an unhoused Black man with a sharp object [as] more of a threat than a white man with an AR-15 pointing at Donald Trump,” write Abolaji Omitogun and Mia Boykin. Read this op-ed from TANTV Studios →
Starting May 2025, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will require all individuals traveling domestically to have a REAL ID, a form of identification available to U.S. citizens and immigrants who have certain lawful statuses in the country. View this glossary from Documented →
The FBI raided former New York Deputy Chief of Staff Linda Sun's home, but the reason remains unclear.AsAmNews has more →
Bangladesh faces a crisis as violence against youth and protests reveal deep flaws in its governance. Despite the nation's advancements, the government’s response to dissent and the ongoing unrest highlight a failure to ensure safety and democratic rights for its young people.Read more of this story from Scroll, first published in Dhaka Tribune →
How Kamala Harris is energizing U.S. voters and what's next
The news that President Biden is stepping down in favor of VP Kamala Harris on the 2024 Democratic ticket has electrified some Black and South Asian communities in the US. URL Media co-founders Sara Lomax and Mitra Kalita discuss what’s at stake. They are joined by
Epicenter-NYC
editorial director Femi Redwood and
Scroll
’s politics editor Shoaib Daniyal.
