Social media trolls try but fail to give Kamala Harris the Obama-birther treatmentPosted in Articles, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United States, Women on 2019-07-04 19:55Z by Steven |
Social media trolls try but fail to give Kamala Harris the Obama-birther treatment
Think Progress
2019-07-01
 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 30: Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) greets attendees during the SF Pride Parade on June 30, 2019 in San Francisco, California. An online smear campaign targeted Harris over the weekend, arguing she’s not a black American and raising fears of birtherism and racism intruding into the 2020 campaign. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) |
Birtherism raises its ugly head, only to be lopped off by Harris supporters and rivals
A birther-style attack against Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination failed to take hold after legions of her online supporters — including most of her political opponents — rushed to denounce social media postings challenging her legitimacy to speak as a black American.
Harris spoke passionately about racial issues during last week’s Democratic debate, and since then a misguided series of social media posts began sprouting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter suggesting that her parentage — Harris’ mother was Tamil Indian and her father is Jamaican — disqualified her from the community of black people in the United States.
At one point in last week’s debate, Harris interrupted crosstalk on stage, demanding to be heard as “the only black person on this stage” during a heated discussion of racial justice policy.
At another point, Harris described her feelings confronting racism as a child. “Growing up, my sister and I had to deal with the neighbor who told us her parents said she couldn’t play with us because … we were black.”…
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