Kamala Harris and Black women’s aspirations: Letters to the editor, Aug. 23, 2020

Black women can dream big

When candidate Barack Obama selected then-Sen. Joe Biden, who had been his rival for the nomination of the Democratic party for president in 2008, did we hear cries of “He is too ambitious”? Yet, newspaper accounts cite former Sen. Chris Dodd and donors characterizing a Black woman, Sen. Kamala Harris, as too ambitious. Can we infer that Harris and all of the other “ambitious Black women” have become “uppity” and do not know how to stay in their places assigned to them?

This is an affront to all Black women. The message is clear. “Stay in your place” and we will define your place, role, and time. This is so reminiscent of the message sent to Fannie Lou Hamer in 1968 when she fought to seat a delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The same message was sent to Rep. Shirley Chisholm when she sought her party’s nomination for president.

As Black women, the message we receive is that we can serve as the “backbone” of the Democratic party who can be counted upon to vote consistently for the party, and in the words of former Vice President Joe Biden, “they are the ones who brought me to the dance,” but we cannot aspire to higher places.

As educators who have fought to instill in Black girls confidence that not only can they dream big, but they can aspire to break glass ceilings, these words are a throwback to times we would like to forget.

Nunes has it all wrong on water

It appears that Devin Nunes is basing his re-election campaign on his, to date, failed attempt to destroy California’s water infrastructure. The entire focus of his TV campaign is we’re wasting water, giving the allusion that in his fabricated opinion this is unfair to the Central Valley.

The executive “fiat” actions taken by the current chief executive and supported by Nunes were shown and proven by NOAA biologists to result in the complete destruction of the Chinook salmon habitat and severe harm to several other fish species. In response, Trump next put in “his team” to rewrite policy to achieve these ends.

Fortunately we have Gov. Newsom to take action to at least delay the implementation, if not reverse, this flawed plan by the courts.

I just reviewed who is financing Nunes’ campaign. What I found is he is primarily supported by crop production and basic processing at $2,000,000+; CA Dairy Inc., at $1,000,000+; Pioneer Nursery $92,0000+; and others described by several environmental agencies as ‘hell bent on hurting our future environmental health.”

Senator’s aide called to account

When state Sen. Melissa Hurtado was elected, she said that she and her staff would serve all the needs of our district, which faces serious challenges.

It is disturbing to me to learn that her local representative has already filed to run for office himself. James Martinez has declared his intention to seek a seat on the Fresno County Board of Education, challenging the only African American male on that board.

This is a serious position, and not only could it cause interference with district services for this staff member whose salary is paid by taxpayer dollars, I believe it is also a conflict of interest. How many other staff members of Sen. Hurtado plan to now seek public office? Will her staff members now be campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime?

This is not representing the Valley, this is poor judgment, and I expected a higher standard from our senator.

Valley Rotarians making a difference

During this period of heightened personal anxiety, it is comforting to know that there are thousands of Central Californians who are committed to assisting those in need. They are the women, men and youth of local Rotary Clubs who are helping by raising funds and personally donating cash to support the various social service agencies, primarily food banks and the Central California Blood Bank, as they help ease the human toll extracted by the current pandemic.

Although not generally reported, Rotarians in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Monterey counties have to date raised more than $525,000 in cash and have provided more than 15,000 PPE masks and shields for frontline health-care workers.

Despite the personal toll, thousands of Rotarians continue to donate their time, talent and resources to help. The motto of Rotary is “Service Above Self” and we should all acknowledge those Rotarians, their families and their friends who are genuinely practicing that principle. They are truly making a difference.

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Kamala Harris and Black women’s aspirations: Letters to the editor, Aug. 23, 2020."