When I was a young associate in a large law firm – the first and only Black attorney they’d ever hired – I noticed something interesting about how they assessed Black potential hires. Whenever Black attorneys applied to the firm, the hiring committee circulated their law school transcripts and made a point of urging the hiring attorneys to review them, something they never did for white applicants.
White lawyers with any experience out of law school were assessed based on their post-law school performance – their track record as a lawyer, references, etc. Similarly-situated Black applicants were also evaluated on all of those things AND their grades and LSAT scores, measures that are merely predictors of future success that really mean nothing once a student graduates and actually starts working. I came to realize this was done in order to keep Black lawyers out. “Yes, he’s done well as an attorney and has excellent references. But did you see his GRADES? He probably would not do well here.”
And then, when I joined a law school faculty and participated in faculty recruiting, i saw the same thing. We never saw the academic transcripts of white applicants but when Black applicants were considered, we were strongly encouraged by some hiring committee members to review their transcripts, which were kept in a special folder in the dean’s office. As they were at the law firm, the invitations to visit that file were offered as a warning, in hushed, concerned tones, “Before you make a final decision about hiring her, you should really take a look at her transcripts …”
I’m reminded of this when I see comments in the press and on social media questioning Kamala Harris performance as vice president and pointing to poll numbers to suggest that she’s not popular with Democrats or the American public and, thus, should be replaced on the ticket.
Because this argument sounded odd and unfamiliar to me, I decided to go back and look at Biden’s poll numbers at this stage of his vice presidency to compare them with Vice President Harris’.
And you know what? I couldn’t find any. Zip. Because, until recently, it was not a common thing to conduct standalone popularity polls on the vice president. They were just treated as part of the team and the polls focused on the president, not the VP. Perhaps there are some polls out there from that period that I didn’t find, but if there are, they weren’t very prevalent and were very few and far between.
And they definitely weren’t the subject of article after article and constant chatter about whether he should be replaced on the ticket.
But now that we have a Black female vice president, we are inundated with polling about HER individual popularity. Why do you think that is?
That’s a rhetorical question. I know why. As my own experience shows, this REGULARLY happens when Black people, especially women, move into key positions. We are scrutinized more closely, held to higher standards, measured against new and different criteria, and treated with much more skepticism and analysis than our white male predecessors and colleagues.
I’ve experienced this myself and I’m sure just about any Black woman you ask will tell you the same thing.
So I caution you against putting too much store in Vice President Harris’ popularity polls or claims that she hasn’t been visible or effective enough. Vice Presidents aren’t supposed to be individually popular and they’re not supposed to carry out their own agenda. They are there to do exactly what the president who selected them and placed them by their side wants them to do. And so far, Vice President Harris has done just that and clearly, Joe Biden is pleased with her performance
By all measures previously applied to her white male predecessors, Kamala Harris is doing an outstanding job as vice president. And, just as important, she obviously has Joe Biden’s full support and confidence.
That is more than good enough for me. If it’s not good enough for you, I suggest you take a moment to ask yourself why you’re expecting the first Black female vice president to produce receipts never demanded from the 48 white men who came before her.