KAMALA HARRIS:
MS. VICE PRESIDENT

MICHELE J MARTIN

In 2008, the then first P.O.C. to be elected as D.A. of San Francisco was singled out in a New York Times article speculating, "She Just Might Be President Someday." Here we are today.

She is one of the most profiled women in the world at this moment. There is very little that I could share in this post that you haven't heard over the last two years of campaigning. Or since her election and inauguration as the first Black, first South Asian, and first woman Vice President of the United States. Instead of trying to teach you something you might not know, I want to share some of my favorite Kamala Harris moments from the last several years.

When Ms. Harris won the California Senate seat in 2017, she became the first Indian-American and the second African-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Here she is in an interview with Bay Area news station KQED soon after that win.

"[I want] to be a voice for all of these voices that are not being heard people who are not necessarily being seen"

When you picture Joe Biden, you think of those aviator shades. When you picture Kamala Harris, of course, you think of her Chuck Taylors. A bold move when every detail of a candidate's "brand" is scrutinized, especially a female candidate. Standing out is brave. Her embracing and proudly rocking her Chucks could also be a not-so-subtle statement. She wants the American people to connect with her as a politician who is being unabashedly American, who is humble, approachable, and maybe not so different from them after all.

Most importantly, though, they are authentic. Chuck Taylors aren't a manufactured re-branding of Kamala Harris for Vice President. As she told The Cut, in an interview from 2018, "I have a whole collection of Chuck Taylors: a black leather pair, a white pair, I have the kind that don't lace, the kind that do lace, the kind I wear in the hot weather, the kind I wear in the cold weather, and the platform kind for when I'm wearing a pantsuit."

"“We have to be joyful warriors. I decided at the end of last year, there was so much that was creating anxiety, depression and anger. And I thought I am done with that. And let’s be joyful warriors.”

This historic moment. The joy, hope, and reverence that much of the nation's women and young girls felt on this day was immeasurable.

In her first speech as the Vice President, Kamala Harris stood on the National Mall, the Washington Monument behind her. She spoke of the need for unity, and in speaking of the struggles our country is facing, to "see beyond crisis to do what is hard, to do what is good."

Her voice has given platform for the voices of an entire generation of young Black and brown girls to dream any dream they can imagine. In that 2018 interview with The Cut, then-Senator Harris was asked for her advice for women considering running for office. Her response was enthusiastic, "Run, with five exclamation points! Your country needs you. We need you! I’m very excited about the people who have never been involved and are getting involved in elections. I’m excited about all of these women and people of color who are running and aren’t burdened by who has traditionally held office. They know what can be. That excites me a great deal."

Thurgood Marshall Award — National Black Prosecutors Association (2005)
20 of America's Most Powerful Women — Newsweek (2005)
100 Most Influential People in the World — Time Magazine (2013)
Bipartisan Justice Award — 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center (2016)
2020's Person of the Year (jointly with President Joe Biden) — Time Magazine

HONORARY DOCTORATES

Doctor of Laws — University of Southern California (2015)
Doctor of Humane Letters — Howard Univerity (2017)

Vice President Kamala Harris's vocal style can be powerful and take charge, commanding attention. It can also overflow with hope, joyfulness, and fun.

Young people should have more exposure to voices with these characteristics, not just in their community but in their technology. Their smart speakers, their voice assistants, their applications using digital voices.

Unfortunately, vocal styles like Vice President Harris' have NOT been represented in the digital voices dominating the markets.But imagine the possibilities if the world of digital voice matched the world of human voice. If it was as dynamic and expressive? Guess what; digital voice can be all that — learn more about AI-Voice.

type-armor

Armor voices are defined as Loud, Deep, Modal, and Nasal. Learn more about the unique characteristics that make up our voices and voice types here: VOCALiD Voice Types.

This is the twentieth in our Iconic Black Voices series. Make sure to come back to our blog every day this month as we highlight more iconic Black voices in celebration of Black History Month.

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