By Aria Brent 
AFRO Staff Writer 
abrent@afro.com  

As Vice President Harris continues her campaign for president, the support is rolling in at rapid speeds. Many calls and campaigns have been organized to help the presidential candidate receive the financial, communal and political aid she needs to successfully compete to be the next commander-in-chief. 

Janeese Lewis George currently serves as the Ward 4 representative for the D.C. Council and is up for re-election in November.

CREDIT: courtesy image

With a great amount of endorsements and backings from celebrities, political figures and elected officials, Harris seems to be moving full steam ahead with her campaign. The excitement surrounding this historic candidacy is shared by many. The AFRO reached out to D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George to get her input on watching a fellow Black woman run for president.

AFRO:  What do you think will be VP Kamala Harris’ greatest challenge during this campaign for president?

Janeese Lewis George: From a practical standpoint, I think Harris’ biggest challenge will be the short amount of time she has to build a strong campaign, but the momentum we’ve seen in just the last week has made it abundantly clear she’ll have no problem overcoming it. 

Dealing with the racism and sexism that will undoubtedly shape conversations in this race is not something you get used to even though you expect it. Navigating those conversations and overcoming those who think that way will be a challenge. 

AFRO: As a fellow Black woman in politics, how do you feel about her stepping into this role as a presidential candidate? 

JLG: Our country is stronger when leaders reflect the full diversity of the people in our communities. That’s true at the local level and at the national level. My experiences as a woman of color who grew up in a union household shapes my policymaking in ways that are very needed in our country. I’m confident that will be true for Harris’s leadership as well. Harris and I both attended Howard University, we both are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and we both served as assistant district attorney and assistant attorney general in a state office.I am incredibly proud of her for multiple reasons and of how far she has come and I know that she has the experience and qualifications to step into this role. 

AFRO: If elected, how do you hope to see Harris impact the nation?

JLG: We’re already seeing it. There is Obama 2008 energy happening right now and we’re seeing it at her rallies, in her fundraising and in the people signing up to volunteer. That’s the energy it will take to defeat Donald Trump in November and that’s the energy it will take to advance progressive wins in 2025. 

AFRO:  Where do you think her influence is needed most right now? 

JLG: We need national action on gun control. Every community in this country has been affected by Congress’s failure to act on guns and I hope VP Harris can make progress on it with urgency.

This moment is also making it clear that we need D.C. statehood. To have a major party candidate promising to overturn D.C. home rule is incredibly dangerous. The people who live in D.C. deserve to elect their own leaders, just like everyone else in this country and the only way to ensure that is by making D.C. the 51st State.

AFRO:  How do you think having a Black woman as president will affect the climate of Black women in politics?

JLG: Black women are already doing incredible work in local government, in Congress, in state governments, federal agencies, in the courts and more. I’ll celebrate the nation’s first Black and Indian woman president, but at the end of the day I’ll get back to doing the work. 

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