An Infamous Football Player Once Said, “I’m not Black, I’m OJ.” Would it be in His Best Interest to Take That Stance Today?
Words by Kia Thomas
Illustration by Katie Herchenroeder
Excitement and tensions arose within the black community as Senator Cory Booker and Senator Kamala Harris announced their presidential campaigns within days of each other. Harris announced her bid on January 21, the reverend Martin Luther King’s birthday. Booker announced his on February 1, the first day of Black History Month. Booker and Harris’ strategies involve centering their Blackness and the Black constituency, something major party nominees have shied away from. Barack Obama remains notorious for race-neutral attitudes up until his second term. As the black community meditates on who would be best for the presidency, many voices express feelings that neither candidate can serve the black community in a positive way. Others believe they never did.
Kamala Harris became Senator of California in 2017.According to her official website, Harris became the first South Asian-Americanand second Black-American woman in history to be elected senator. Herbackground includes two terms as the District Attorney of San Francisco and twoterms as California’s first woman and Black-American Attorney General.
Her trailblazing accomplishments as a Black woman gounchallenged; however, Harris’ stance on prison reform stirred controversyamong many who believe her policies endorse the prison-industrial complex andmass incarceration. As Attorney General, Harris appealeda federal district ruling which found the death penalty to be unconstitutional.She remainedsilent on a bill requiring special investigations into shootings involvingpolice officers, right around the time the Black Lives Matter movement gainedtraction after several consecutive police shootings of unarmed black men. Shefaced accusations from constituents and lawmakers alike of protecting the lawenforcement community to avoid a conflict of interest. Harris supportedCalifornia state legislation targeting the parents of truant children. Passed in 2011,the law allows for parents to be prosecuted for a misdemeanor and fined up to$1,000. Harris’ "tough-on-crime” attitude allowed her to climb thepolitical ranks, yet many believe her history indicates a troubling disconnectfrom the interests and concerns of the Black community, a demographic heavilyimpacted by stricter policies in law enforcement.
Harris’ career as District Attorney includes a scandal inwhich she deliberately hid “damaging information about a drug lab technician,”according to SFGate, violating defendant’s rights. Harris’ negligent actions led to afederal Judge ordering the dismissal of over 600 drug cases.
Harris takes on a more progressive approach during herpresidential campaign. She supports the decriminalization of sex work, as wellas backing reparationsto African-Americans with lineage connecting to slavery. Throughout her career,Harris advocated for abolishing solitary and room confinement for juvenileprisoners. Recently, she changed her position regarding the legalization ofrecreational marijuana.
Cory Booker served as the Mayor of Newark from 2006 until2013, when he first became senator in New Jersey’s special election for the Congressionalseat on October 16, 2013. Following that, Booker won the election for a fullsix-year term on November 4, 2014.
As a New Jersey native, Booker took his eight-year term asits down-to-earth mayor incrediblyseriously, chasing armed robbers and going on night rides with policeofficers. Booker’s 10+ year-old backing of the privatization of education andsupport of charterschools have garnered criticism from Democrats, some believing Booker wouldrather pander to corporations than focus on public education. In the same vein,after publicly announcing that he would back a bill intended to lower the priceof prescription drugs, Bookervoted against it. Many attributed his switch-up to the fact that Bookerreceives large donations from pharmaceutical companies and banks. When asked ifBooker would be willing to abolish private health care, hedeclined, despite supporting progressive presidential candidate BernieSanders’ “Medicare-For-All” bill. Although Booker’s reputation lies in hisdedication to his constituents, many feel that his interests align more withthose of Big Pharma and Wall Street than the people.
Booker stood behind the now-passed First Step Act for years, a law madeto “ensure people are prepared to come home from prison job-ready and havemajor incentives to pursue the life-changing classes that will help themsucceed on the outside.” Booker proposed a bill banning solitary confinementfor those under the age of 18, like his opponent, as well as a bill that would reducepunitive punishment for nonviolent offenders with drug charges. Booker is knownas a staunch advocate for prison reform and rehabilitation. His history insupporting progressive criminal justice legislation contrasts Harris’traditional approach to crime.
Both Harris and Booker face accusations of co-opting popculture and popular black references to obtain the black vote. Both politiciansappeared on The Breakfast Club to discuss their campaigns. Bookerchose to use slang words inconsistent with his normal vernacular. Harris’ statements weredeceptive, claiming she not only smoked marijuana in college, but listened toTupac and Biggie while getting high. Harris received her law degree fromHasting's College in 1989, five years before the release of Biggie’s firstalbum and two years before the release of Tupac’s. In addition, Harris was recentlyrecording listening to Cardi B during a speechwriting break.
Booker and Harris’ bipartisan histories, to some, seem tospeak louder than their pro-black presents. That noted, there is definitelymore discussion to be had around the two candidates and who, in the end, willrepresent the people they claim to now.
