Jacqueline Hazel Brown-Gaines | Open Letter 2020

To the State Senator of California and incoming Vice President of the United States, Senator Kamala Harris,

I thank you first and foremost for your dedicated pursuit to the goals of justice in this nation and abroad. By nation, I mean that Cali nation with not one but TWO 2020 World Series Championship teams! Like you, I am a native of the great state of California as well as an HBCU alumna of the illustrious Speeelman College, Class of 2020! I am presently pursuing my doctoral degree in History at home in California, and looking forward to your upcoming transition to Vice President of the United States! On the eve of election night, I am not afraid of the stony road in front of us by any means. After all, the tumult caused by those in office over the course of Trump’s stint will have to face a system that is older than the nation and revered by First Nations. So of course, you’re going to win.

This year has been a little rough for me, though I have never lost the faith. As you can tell, my once-in-a-lifetime graduation from the #1 HBCU and School in the nation was stolen from me through a man-made public health crisis stemming from the rot of toxic hyper-masculinity fueled by the myth of white supremacy. The cruel murder of Ms. Breonna Taylor took place on my 22nd birthday which was also the weekend my sisters, family, and friends were suddenly displaced from our loving campuses in the AUC and forced to spend the remainder of our highly anticipated and never-before-seen Spring Semester of our 2020 senior year literally paralyzed with fear over a highly contagious coronavirus that journalists had no problem letting everyone know killed Black, Brown, and Native communities especially. The mass murderer pedophile rapist in the stolen Presidential seat and the demon in the stolen Governor seat of Georgia chose over and over again to attempt to restrict access to life-saving information about the virus from Americans, prioritize an already demented and failing economy, and hide in sad taxpayer-funded public housing rage tweeting to minions of a cause as sick and dying as themselves.

I take you up on your challenge to use my voice and pen to spark meaningful change as expressed in your book, “The Truths We Hold.” I am charged knowing that in addition to you becoming Vice President at such a transformative time, you will also be bringing a new standard for the way the United States government and other historically male-dominated fields are run. Those in charge need to be reflective of the people. Your time in office will bring more sustainable progress as a nation with more feminist people in charge. Thank you for your courage.

I am asking you to prioritize the needs of the Mother Earth first and foremost in any decision that you make as Vice President of the United States, especially as it pertains to attempts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The amount of waste that has been produced due to the failed response to the coronavirus has set back gains made in environmental justice too much. Women have been carrying this nation on our backs throughout time and especially during this pandemic in the fields of healthcare, education, child rearing and essential services. We are entitled to financial investment by the United States government and the highest standard of living from the system that we have paid for, shaped, and struggled together to hold together.

If the needs of Mother Earth are not met, then all else is in vain. One action that that will be most beneficial for all is to designate federal funding for the immediate distribution of reusable and sustainable menstrual products for all menstruators across the country. These products take the shape of cloth pads and menstrual cups. Disposable menstrual products contribute needless waste to the planet, may not decompose fully for decades if at all, and are oftentimes more harmful to people’s health than if they were using reusable products. By designating this funding, we are investing in a healthy future of people who menstruate, liberating ourselves from the patriarchal chains of shame that deny members of our society the right to reach their fullest potential, and uplifting the overall well-being and dignity of all of us by eliminating a regular expense that unfairly targets more than half of the population who, by the way, are paid less for bleeding as it is.

I am also asking that you take seriously the presence of domestic terrorism within this nation and crack down on it hard when you are in office. People of all colors are tired of living in the fear that Trump has emboldened for a country that we have been forced to sustain with our tax dollars. Senator Harris, the American people are not afraid to defend ourselves and we are done being afraid. I do not pay to be sick and targeted on the land my ancestors built. I do not pay to be threatened and anxious and suffering from the effects of greed-induced climate change in the land my ancestors lived in before the United States was even thought of!

I feel very passionately that you are the right woman to take office at this particular moment because of who you are. Your empowering and uplifting upbringing as well as fine choice in higher education and commitment to the residents of California demonstrates how dedicated you are to justice and an America that is above and beyond this. Thank you for leading by example. Thank you for your bravery in running for office and for your belief in the wholesome values of American people. When you and former Vice President Joe Biden’s names are called to be the new President and Vice President of the United States, we will be ready with open arms to fight for and embrace a future filled with light, solidarity and mutual respect, professional accountability to its greatest standards, and true representation in its highest ideals throughout the many offices that the United States has to offer for all elections to come.

In solidarity, sisterhood, and personhood,

Jacqueline Hazel Brown-Gaines

Girl Scout Gold Award

She/we/us