Sen. Kamala Harris retains two historical names as the first Asian American and the first Black woman to sit on a significant party's presidential ticket.
That instant milestone in particular is no crash, according to Wendy Smooth, a professor of political science and women's studies at Ohio State University.
"Kamala Harris climbs from a strategic campaign led by Black girls to call upon the Democratic Party to recognize their long-standing activism and support," she explained.
"It is not happenstance that all of a sudden we're talking about Black girls in 2020. And it wasn't that we began talking about Black women only in 2008, which is just another narrative that I find incredibly frustrating. Black women are at the helm of Democratic organizing and Democratic politics for decades," Smooth said.
Harris herself confessed this Wednesday night in her speech to the Democratic National Convention. Speaking about the 19th Amendment -- that gave a few women, but not Black girls, the right to vote Harris said women of color continued to organize anyway. "With no fanfare or recognition, they organized, testified, rallied, marched and fought -- not just due to their vote but to get a seat at the table. These women and the generations who followed worked to earn democracy and chance real in the lives of all of us who followed," she said.
In the 2008 and 2012 elections, Black girls voted at higher rates than the rest of the sex and race subgroups.
"Black women have always used political engagement as a means to advance themselves as well as their communities," dating back to Reconstruction, said Pearl Dowe, a political science professor at Oxford College of Emory University.
And Harris' candidacy is a recognition of the political force, she agreed, as well as some recognition of Harris' qualifications as a candidate.
"We go back to Black women's nightclubs, Black women's benevolent organizations that show that in the absence of government supports for the Black community, in the absence of access to various kinds of supports, the Black community has had to fill in the gaps," Smooth clarified.
And it's often been Black girls particularly in leadership roles to fill those gaps and to engage politically.
Given that history, it is"business as usual" for party loyalists like Black women to be recognized, Smooth explained. "What is different about it is that we do have a group that's been traditionally known as an outsider group."
'It's very important not to overlook us'
Just 1 case of that company are Black sororities and fraternities, such as Alpha Kappa Alpha, in which Harris was pioneered as a student at Howard University.
Founded in 1908, It's the oldest African American sorority from the USA.
"People were women -- and another Divine Nine associations -- who have always been moved and convicted about public attention," Smooth said.
The"Divine Nine" identifies the nine organizations which compose the National Pan-Hellenic Council of historically Black sororities and fraternities.
"If you look at what we've done for this country and the way we mobilize and how we use our voice and our vote, it's important to not overlook ," explained Michelle Arrington, a lawyer in Atlanta who was also initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha in Howard.
Though Black women have been missed, she said -- for example in the suffrage movement 100 decades ago -- Black women fought as well, but they didn't wind up winning the right to vote themselves.
"We are at the polls for each and every neighborhood race, every national race, in our communities, making sure we get the job finished. And Black girls have this powerful capability to mobilize," she said.
In fact, talking about the"Black vote," Smooth said, frequently actually means talking about Black women. "And that's for all kinds of reasons, such as structural motives around incarceration and lack of voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals, which can be often African American guys," she said.
'We've got her back'
What's particular about Black women's political participation, Dowe said,"is it isn't only for themselves. Their work and their vision is often for their community. And also for society more widely."
It roots back into the overlapping two identities, she said, as girls and as African Americans. "They have this bigger version of vision of society due to the bit of gender and race," she said. "They had to, because they knew they were not treated exactly like white girls."
That focus extends into the motto of Alpha Kappa Alpha:"Service to all mankind."
For Sojourner Marable Grimmett, an Atlanta AKA who works for a nonprofit providing affordable housing to seniors, Harris' career reflects the motto.
"I believe that is what Kamala Harris will do, also has been doing her entire life, is service to everyone," she said.
Grimmett is excited about Harris' candidacy. She's already donated and purchased a lawn sign. And she said a lot of her sorority sisters are excited too.
Because with Harris' membership in AKA includes a community of participated Black women of more than 300,000 internationally and, across the Divine Nine, over 1.5 million people.
(As nonprofits, the Greek letter organizations do not formally support political candidates.)
"When we first heard that she would be on the ticket, I received many messages from [sorority sisters]. Pink and green emojis. We're only happy," she explained, referring to the sorority's colors. "I said,'You know, we may wear green and pink all the way up until Nov. 3, because we're excited about her to the ticket.'"
"The more I know about her, I am even more excited," explained Catherine Foster Rowell, an AKA and councilwoman in South Fulton, Ga."Her candidacy not only mobilizes our sorority, but these involved in Greek life generally I believe get excited about actually pushing what's, you know, one of their areas of attention, which is voter engagement."
"I expect she's exciting for all women, not only African American women," Rowell added.
"She's our backing, and we will do whatever we can as a collective group along with other historical Black fraternities and sororities to support her," Grimmett said. "We're excited. We've got her back. And she knows that."
At an AKA Facebook city hall last month, Harris alluded to the support system whilst talking about taking a seat at a table when you're the only one at the table who looks like you.
"Actually if you're the only one like you at the area, you carry all people with you. We are with you in this area when you take that chair at the table," she said. "You take our voices inside that area with you. And it is important to always know that if you take that chair at the table, you're never alone."
That instant milestone in particular is no crash, according to Wendy Smooth, a professor of political science and women's studies at Ohio State University.
"Kamala Harris climbs from a strategic campaign led by Black girls to call upon the Democratic Party to recognize their long-standing activism and support," she explained.
"It is not happenstance that all of a sudden we're talking about Black girls in 2020. And it wasn't that we began talking about Black women only in 2008, which is just another narrative that I find incredibly frustrating. Black women are at the helm of Democratic organizing and Democratic politics for decades," Smooth said.
Harris herself confessed this Wednesday night in her speech to the Democratic National Convention. Speaking about the 19th Amendment -- that gave a few women, but not Black girls, the right to vote Harris said women of color continued to organize anyway. "With no fanfare or recognition, they organized, testified, rallied, marched and fought -- not just due to their vote but to get a seat at the table. These women and the generations who followed worked to earn democracy and chance real in the lives of all of us who followed," she said.
In the 2008 and 2012 elections, Black girls voted at higher rates than the rest of the sex and race subgroups.
"Black women have always used political engagement as a means to advance themselves as well as their communities," dating back to Reconstruction, said Pearl Dowe, a political science professor at Oxford College of Emory University.
And Harris' candidacy is a recognition of the political force, she agreed, as well as some recognition of Harris' qualifications as a candidate.
"We go back to Black women's nightclubs, Black women's benevolent organizations that show that in the absence of government supports for the Black community, in the absence of access to various kinds of supports, the Black community has had to fill in the gaps," Smooth clarified.
And it's often been Black girls particularly in leadership roles to fill those gaps and to engage politically.
Given that history, it is"business as usual" for party loyalists like Black women to be recognized, Smooth explained. "What is different about it is that we do have a group that's been traditionally known as an outsider group."
'It's very important not to overlook us'
Just 1 case of that company are Black sororities and fraternities, such as Alpha Kappa Alpha, in which Harris was pioneered as a student at Howard University.
Founded in 1908, It's the oldest African American sorority from the USA.
"People were women -- and another Divine Nine associations -- who have always been moved and convicted about public attention," Smooth said.
The"Divine Nine" identifies the nine organizations which compose the National Pan-Hellenic Council of historically Black sororities and fraternities.
"If you look at what we've done for this country and the way we mobilize and how we use our voice and our vote, it's important to not overlook ," explained Michelle Arrington, a lawyer in Atlanta who was also initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha in Howard.
Though Black women have been missed, she said -- for example in the suffrage movement 100 decades ago -- Black women fought as well, but they didn't wind up winning the right to vote themselves.
"We are at the polls for each and every neighborhood race, every national race, in our communities, making sure we get the job finished. And Black girls have this powerful capability to mobilize," she said.
In fact, talking about the"Black vote," Smooth said, frequently actually means talking about Black women. "And that's for all kinds of reasons, such as structural motives around incarceration and lack of voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals, which can be often African American guys," she said.
'We've got her back'
What's particular about Black women's political participation, Dowe said,"is it isn't only for themselves. Their work and their vision is often for their community. And also for society more widely."
It roots back into the overlapping two identities, she said, as girls and as African Americans. "They have this bigger version of vision of society due to the bit of gender and race," she said. "They had to, because they knew they were not treated exactly like white girls."
That focus extends into the motto of Alpha Kappa Alpha:"Service to all mankind."
For Sojourner Marable Grimmett, an Atlanta AKA who works for a nonprofit providing affordable housing to seniors, Harris' career reflects the motto.
"I believe that is what Kamala Harris will do, also has been doing her entire life, is service to everyone," she said.
Grimmett is excited about Harris' candidacy. She's already donated and purchased a lawn sign. And she said a lot of her sorority sisters are excited too.
Because with Harris' membership in AKA includes a community of participated Black women of more than 300,000 internationally and, across the Divine Nine, over 1.5 million people.
(As nonprofits, the Greek letter organizations do not formally support political candidates.)
"When we first heard that she would be on the ticket, I received many messages from [sorority sisters]. Pink and green emojis. We're only happy," she explained, referring to the sorority's colors. "I said,'You know, we may wear green and pink all the way up until Nov. 3, because we're excited about her to the ticket.'"
"The more I know about her, I am even more excited," explained Catherine Foster Rowell, an AKA and councilwoman in South Fulton, Ga."Her candidacy not only mobilizes our sorority, but these involved in Greek life generally I believe get excited about actually pushing what's, you know, one of their areas of attention, which is voter engagement."
"I expect she's exciting for all women, not only African American women," Rowell added.
"She's our backing, and we will do whatever we can as a collective group along with other historical Black fraternities and sororities to support her," Grimmett said. "We're excited. We've got her back. And she knows that."
At an AKA Facebook city hall last month, Harris alluded to the support system whilst talking about taking a seat at a table when you're the only one at the table who looks like you.
"Actually if you're the only one like you at the area, you carry all people with you. We are with you in this area when you take that chair at the table," she said. "You take our voices inside that area with you. And it is important to always know that if you take that chair at the table, you're never alone."