By Micha Green,
AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor,
mgreen@afro.com

Karine Jean-Pierre made history when she was appointed chief of staff for Vice President Kamala Harris on now President Joe Biden’s 2020 U.S. Presidential Campaign, becoming the first Black woman to serve in that role. While Jean-Pierre is proud to be a barrier breaking woman, she also said she contends that Black firsts need to be a thing of the past as more people serve in high-power positions.

“When you see someone doing something in a position that you normally don’t see them in, it becomes normal. And that is so important to think about. It’s like we need to break through and be the first so that it becomes normal, so that there’s a second and a third and a fourth,” Jean-Pierre, who currently serves as White House principal deputy press secretary, said.

“There are qualified, immensely qualified voices and individuals for all of these positions, but you have to be purposeful. We have to make it a point and make it part of our agenda. I think that’s what the President has done, I think that’s what the Vice President has done. They came into the Administration and they said we’re going to make a point and you’re going to see the diversity around us and they’re making sure that happens. So that’s what you need. You need people who are going to put that on their agenda and actually execute it, and that’s what you’re going to see. It’s about who you’re bringing with you,” the barrier breaking woman said.

The Principal White House Deputy Press Secretary explained that she joined the Biden-Harris Administration because she believed in what they had to offer and, further, how her skills and passions could contribute to the proverbial table.

“There’s an opportunity to do good work, on behalf of this President and on behalf of the American people. The reason why I wanted to work for this President, Joe Biden, is because I believed in what he was talking about. I believed that he was able to get us back in a direction that was equal for all. That brought everybody up, that didn’t leave anybody behind, and in a direction we haven’t been on,” Jean-Pierre said. “And now with the Biden-Harris Administration you have seen that in so many ways. Policies that we push forth and the legislation that has gotten passed- you think about the (American Rescue Plan), you think about the bipartisan {Infrastructure bill}, you think about so many of the things that we’ve been able to do is helping to put everyone on a fair footing.  So it’s been an honor, and I’m just going to continue doing the work.”

Jean-Pierre said Biden’s intentionality behind having a Black woman replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court is a perfect example of how the current Administration is breaking down doors and making space for more strong, African-American leaders.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the Supreme Court Justice pick, that the President and VIce President are going through right now,” she said. “The President has said, on the campaign (and he’s keeping his promise now that he’s President) that he’s going to pick someone who is highly and immensely qualified and who is a Black woman. And the reason he made that point is because there’s no representation. We don’t see a Black woman on the Supreme Court. I mean that’s not what it should be. The way we look at it, it’s been 230 years since the Supreme Court has existed, has come to be, and we have not, in those 230 years, had a Black woman. And it’s so important for him to be so clear about this and to be deliberate about it because it shouldn’t be.”

“You have to be incredibly purposeful, because it is about opportunity,” Jean-Pierre added.  “Just in the next couple weeks, he’s going to name a Black woman as a Supreme Court Justice, which in 230 years had never happened. I think that says a lot about this President, it says a lot about where we are today and it says a lot about what it means to be purposeful about something.”

The barrier breaking woman emphasized that while she is proud to have been the first Black woman to open certain doors during her career, she hopes to celebrate in the other women of color that come behind her.

“Representation matters. Being the first matters, and hopefully there’s two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine people after me, after all of us who are in historical positions will be able to do, because that’s what really matters,” she said.

“I feel like sometimes it’s not just about the first, it’s about the people who come behind you as well,” Jean-Pierre said.

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