It looks like Vice President Kamala Harris made an appearance at the BET Awards recently that got some mixed reviews. One magazine even described it as a “cringe as hell” attempt to connect with Black voters.
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During the event, when actress Taraji P. Henson asked Harris about the upcoming election, Harris responded with, “Yeah girl, I’m out here in these streets. And let me tell you, you’re right, Taraji. There is so much at stake in this moment. The majority of us believe in freedom and equality.”
These extremists, as they say, they not like us,” referencing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘diss track’ to Drake, ‘Not Like Us.’ Complex magazine labeled the move “unflinchingly corny” and drew parallels to Hillary Clinton’s past actions.
“If Hillary Clinton is the Ken Griffey Jr. of pandering, then it looks like Kamala is becoming the Barry Bonds of it,” the magazine wrote.
Jayson Buford, a journalist contributing to the hip-hop publication, mentioned that Clinton’s efforts to appeal to Black voters were “flattening the glaring issues Black people had” and implied that Harris might not fully understand the challenges they encounter.
“The true humiliation of attempting to garner votes she didn’t deserve was what caused Clinton’s eventual downfall in the election. Voters didn’t show up for her like they did former president Barack Obama. Instead of campaigning in areas in the Rust Belt that were on the fence — states Obama had won — she talked about carrying hot sauce on her bag on ‘The Breakfast Club’,” Buford wrote.
“The community’s impartial distrust in her cultural knowledge is like a Hulk Hogan headlock for her political career,” Buford continued. “[This song] is supposed to be a celebration of community in the face of the interloper that can only wish to be us, but can’t totally sell the drastically Black mindset that the men and women with Black skin have. Kamala Harris, the former district attorney who was successful in increasing conviction rates, doesn’t fit what (hopefully) Kendrick Lamar had in mind when he made that song.”
“They [sic] out here trying to take away Pride, Plan B and Planned Parenthood, but protecting pistols. If you ask me, they pushing the wrong Ps,” Henson said,
When asked what could be done about it, Harris responded, “We will do what we’ve always done. Fight for our freedoms. But here’s the thing, we cannot fight alone. We need to get our families, our friends, co-workers, cousins, play cousins, aunties and uncles, get all of them to register to vote. That’s why I’ve been so busy, trying to make sure everyone is registered to vote and that they head to the ballot box on November 5.”
