The New York Times has strongly criticized Democrat Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ “Joy” sloganeering, calling it fake and only being used because Harris is part black, adding that the color of her skin is unlikely to lead to any major social change.
In an opinion column published Thursday, August 29, NYT opinion writer John McWhorter–an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University–compared Harris’s “joy” slogans with former president Barack Obama’s campaign, saying people at the time thought Obama’s “blackness” would cause some sort of major change.
“Obama was a Black president; it’s hard to see how it ended up making anything better.” McWhorter writes and adds, “There is no reason to suppose that Harris’s color will be any more significant than Obama’s was if she becomes president.”
The column states that people should focus on Harris‘ character rather than her ethnicity or race.
“But just as it diminishes Harris to cherish her primarily because she is not Trump, it diminishes her to cherish her primarily because of her skin color and a vague sense of what it ‘signifies.'” McWhorter writes.
Many have highlighted Harris’ black ancestry during the campaign, with CNN saying her “joy” slogan is linked to “black joy.”
Harris, however, is not African-American as her parents are ethnically Indian and Jamaican and previously highlighted her Indian background far more I’m prior years.
A British historian has even traced Harris’s ancestors to the slave trade, claiming that she descends from Hamilton Brown, a notorious slaver and plantation manager in Jamaica.
Most of the recent presidents of the United States and other top American politicians have been linked to the slave trade in some form or another through their ancestors. A major exception is Harris’ opponent, former Donald J. Trump, who has no links to slave trading.
