COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY
TWO PIONEERS , ONE VISION
By MORELYS URBANO
( Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images )
During her 1996 campaign , Moorehead was excluded from a presidential debate of third-party candidates at the National Press Club , in Washington , D . C . The event , which was hosted by the International Center for Economic Justice and George Mason University , was billed as “ the only presidential debate to which all major candidates were invited ” ( the Democratic and Republican candidates didn ’ t participate .)
As the moderator attempted to introduce three White third-party presidential candidates who were assembled onstage , Moorehead stepped to the front of the room and interrupted the proceeding .
“ My name is Monica Moorehead and I ’ m the presidential candidate for Workers World Party and just this afternoon I was excluded from this debate . I have a right to be heard because there ’ s not a dime ’ s worth of difference between these candidates and ( President Bill ) Clinton and ( Sen . Bob ) Dole because I am the only Black woman running for president of the United States this year ,” Moorehead said to a scattering of applause .
“ I am for jobs , I am for healthcare , I am for childcare . I ’ m against corporate greed . I ’ m against corporate downsizing . I ’ m against the scapegoating of immigrant workers . I ’ m for affirmative action and I have a right to be heard on this podium ,” she said before security guards escorted her from the room . When voters went to the polls in November 1996 , Moorehead received 0.03 percent of the vote .
Now 72 , Moorehead continues her work as a political activist in Alabama .
In each of these presidential campaigns , few people were able to imagine a Black woman as the nation ’ s chief executive . So , just how much has his imagination gap closed ?
The answer will likely come when voters go to the polls on November 5 . n
In the history of U . S . politics , few figures have shattered as many barriers as Shirley Chisholm . The first Black woman elected U . S . Congress and the first woman of her race to seek the presidential nomination of a major political party – she was paved the way for Kamala Harris to aspire to this nation ’ s top political office .
Chisholm and Harris are kindred souls .
The presidential bids of both women came in eras marked by deeply entrenched stereotypes about race and gender . Chisholm sought the Democratic Party ’ s presidential nomination in 1972 . Harris , the first Black and South Asian woman on a major party ticket in 2020 when she was elected vice president , redefined the boundaries of what women of color could achieve in American politics . Now as the Democratic candidate for president , she seeks an even greater gain .
Though decades apart , the campaigns waged by Chisholm and Harris broke stereotypes , not only about who could run for president , but also about what leadership , competence , and electability truly look like .
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