Kamala Harris, the first woman and first person of South Asian and African American descent to hold the U.S. vice presidency, has a strong personal connection with the issue of school desegregation. She was part of the second class to integrate her public school in Berkeley, California, through busing in the early 1970s.
This experience has most definitely shaped Harris’s views on race, education, and inequality. During her presidential campaign in 2020, Harris highlighted her own experience with busing to shine a light on the importance of desegregation.
She confronted former Vice President Joe Biden in a Democratic presidential debate, challenging him on his past opposition to federally mandated busing – a policy tool used in the 70s to desegregate schools. Her direct quote: “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me.”
This confrontation shed light on the challenges that Black students faced during desegregation, and it also demonstrated Harris’s commitment to racial justice and equality. It is evident from this and many other instances that Harris’s views on race have been largely shaped by her personal experiences with systemic racism and discrimination. As someone who has personally experienced this ingrained societal issue, Harris uses her platform to advocate for racial equality and justice.
Her mixed-race background and experiences with barriers to racial integration during her school years have helped
