Carol Moseley Braun, first Black woman to serve in US Senate, affirms Kamala Harris’ readiness in becoming first female President
CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention will be unlike any other. For the first time, Democrats will nominate the first woman of color to run for president.
Carol Moseley Braun has experience breaking barriers and cracking the glass ceiling. She made history as the first African American woman to serve in the US Senate, and Vice President Kamala Harris became the second Black woman to serve in 2016.
Now a DNC delegate, WGN-TV caught up with Moseley Braun at her apartment in Hyde Park. There, she spoke to Evening News anchor Micah Materre about President Joe Biden’s surprising decision to step down and the ensuing support for his VP in Harris. Before Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election for a second term, Moseley Braun said she was on board with his continued candidacy.
“I would have followed him to the gates of hell and so when he made that decision, I was on board 100 percent, like, ‘No problem. Kamala, I’ll go over her and do this,'” Moseley Braun said.
Now 77, Moseley Braun called Biden’s decision surprising since she had just seen him at the state dinner for the President of Kenya in Washington, DC, before his subsequent decision.
“The point is that he seemed fine to me and he’s really a good man,” she said. “He wants to serve his country as best he can and he has. And so, as he goes into the sunset, I am willing to support him even in that.”
With all of her support behind Harris, Moseley Braun admits it will be a tough road ahead for the vice president, the first Black female or person of South Asian descent with the support to possibly win the presidency.
“Just gird her loins and get ready for it because they’re going to come at you every way,” Moseley Braun said when asked what advice she would give the presidential hopeful, adding that the venture wouldn’t come easy.
“They’re going to do everything they can to make you mad and you just can’t. You can’t get mad publicly.”
Moseley Braun would know, as she also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.
“I was too thinned-skinned,” Moseley Braun said. “In hindsight, I was. Somebody would say, ‘You’re too fat,’ and it would send me into a depression that would last a week.
“There’s this word that I’ve used now and I don’t know, some philosopher made it up, called “misogynoir.” Actually, our last mayor referred to it a couple of times, but it’s a real thing; it’s misogyny and racism. You put those two things together and it just means that her burden is that much more difficult.”
Minyon Moore, a longtime political consultant to candidates and presidents and now chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, echoed Moseley Braun’s sentiment.
“Now, all we have to do is keep them marching towards the polls because we know it’s going to get ugly,” Moore said.
But can a woman finally become President of the United States? Both Moseley Braun and Moore believe it can happen.
Moseley Braun: “I think a woman can and frankly, the energy around Kamala Harris right now suggests that people are welcoming it and are waiting for it.”
Moore added, “We will elect the first woman President in our country and we have to work every day to prove to America that women are capable of doing this.”
DIGITAL EXTRA: Carol Moseley Braun talks DNC with Micah and Tahman
After more than a year of planning, Chicago is at the center of the political spotlight this week as host of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
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The convention runs through Thursday. Chicago has hosted Democrats 12 times, the last being nearly 30 years ago when President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term.
WGN Cover Story: Why Chicago has hosted more presidential conventions than any other city.
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