After reading the article, “Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Limits of Representation, by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, it was interesting when it came to how the representation of black people such as Kamala Harris in political positions has not really changed much when it comes to the way black people are living within the country. After Obama was elected as President, there was hope for the lives of black people and it was expected that Obama was going to make some changes for them. In the article, it states, “In an attempt to deflect the heavy demands that were gathering across Black America during and after the 2008 financial crisis, he took to publicly chastising poor and working-class Black families for what he believed they were not doing.” Obama targeted black families and was saying that they were not doing enough things to change the way that they were brought up. Obama was representing black people, but he was not necessarily understanding black people in certain moments. It may be due to not understanding the way that black people were living in the country. Joe Biden elected Kamala Harris as his Vice President and it is alarming that he chose her after the moments that he has had that contradicted his support of black people. Taylor included, “He added, “It doesn’t matter whether or not they were deprived as a youth. It doesn’t matter whether or not they had no background that enabled them to become socialized into the fabric of society.” Biden was the architect of the Crime Bill of 1994 and he seemed to lack an understanding of the lives of black people and the way that they were living. Biden claimed to have not cared about black people being deprived within their youth or the idea of not being brought up in society in a better way. Biden did not have an understanding of the way black people were living and it showed in the way that he has talked about their lives. Joe Biden elected Kamala Harris who is black but in order for there to be help for black people, there has to be an understanding in the way that they are brought up and live. Although it is good for black people to be represented, the people taking political positions should understand the way that black people are living.
I agree that having black representatives is important but it does not necessarily solve the issues for the struggles within the black community. Although Vice President Kamala Harris is a black woman, it doesn’t mean she will understand the lives of poor black individuals because she has a wealthy background.
I agree with your comment that politicians may represent a group of people when it come to race, but that doesn’t mean they represent their needs and communicate their struggles across. You brought up Obama with and the way he targeted Black people, saying that they weren’t doing enough, so that is a perfect example of this. This also shows the limits of representation, where with race someone can represent a group, but that doesn’t mean they will represent their needs in the way a group of people wants them to.