Symbolism of Kamala Harris

Initially, I did not think much about Kamala Harris becoming the vice president of the United States. Part of it was my major disappointment stemming from her decision to drop out of the presidential race. It may have been the best move since she would have probably lost to Trump given his broad support but I still had this stubborn hope that America was better than it really is. Another part was my complete exhaustion from the rollercoaster of an election. I was anxious about the rhetoric before the election, the uncertainty of its results, and let’s face it, the unnecessary drama that followed it. I was tired from the Trump antics and everything that came with 2020, the forest fires, black lives that were taken, economic uncertainty, and of course, the pandemic.

Then I saw Bria Goeller and Good Trubble’s image of Kamala Harris with a shadow of Ruby Bridge on my FB page. I paused, really paused and started to reflect on the power of that very image. It slowly seeped into my deep awareness that Kamala Harris, a biracial woman, will be the vice president of the United States of America. She is more than just another vice presidential elect. She is the first woman, first Asian-American, first Black Jamaican American vice president. The symbolism of her advancement cannot be overestimated. She, like Barack Obama, broke the cycle of straight white male leaders who have run this country.

And the powerful image has rightfully interpreted this momentous break from history as made possible by Ruby Bridge’s courage in daring to walk through the halls of an all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans back in 1960. That first step into a once-segregated school was an affront to the white establishment that led to desegregation. When Kamala Harris is sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America on the inaugural platform, she would have represented not just Ruby’s accomplishment but will be standing in for all the contributions and sacrifices of women, specifically the forgotten women of color. Her presence in the White House will become a symbol for countless young womxn of color to aspire to become more than what society expects and for mature womxn who have almost stopped believing in their fight for equality. Without Ruby Bridge, we could not have Kamala Harris. And because of Kamala Harris and the squad, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, who knows that maybe one day we will have capitol hill which will look more like Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show (of course, with a little more clothes) than the cast of West Wing.

Symbols are powerful; the most mundane image/act is imbued with meaning beyond the immediate reality BUT the meaning resonates primarily for people whose lives have been impacted by its message. A swastika is a historical symbol of hatred for Jews which bespeaks millions of lives, evoke the most painful visceral emotions, because it triggers their personal and collective memory of the concentration camps and gas chambers while a cross is a religious symbol of ultimate sacrificial love for Christians that would model hope in the midst of difficulties. Flash an image of George Floyd pressed to the ground by a police officer and many African-Americans would feel in their very bodies the burden of centuries of oppression or hold an image of the Wall and many Mexican-Americans immigrants or natives, documented or undocumented, would feel unwanted in a country where they have labored to belong. In other words, a symbol has the most meaning for communities that are most impacted by its message.

So to truly understand the significance of the symbolic image, one in which Kamala Harris’ casts a shadow of Ruby Bridge, we need to be aware of the larger context, the historical and cultural background in which non-white, non-men have been all too often been ignored, silenced, and/or oppressed. I, whose story resonate in some part to Kamala Harris, the Indian-Jamaican, Asian-Black woman, feel her victory as if it was mine, her story like my story, her recognition, my recognition. Thankfully, the iconic image helped me pause long enough to realize this powerful meaning. For me to overlook this moment in our history would be to miss out on the cultural shift in which the ‘other’ has been invited to the historically most masculine, whitest space, the White House. She embodying the stories of millions of women would be walking into the White House and God willing, she with the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of women will one day sit in the Oval Office. But as much as I am ecstatic to see Kamala Harris as the elect vice president, I am looking for a day in which a Black, Asian woman sworn into office in the White House is not symbolic but commonplace.
Sam Joo

12/12/20