The people disrupting Kamala Harris on her book tour would never do this to white men

Past VPs haven’t endured this kind of disrespect.

By Carron J. Phillips

It’s ok to be upset. But is the Black woman on stage truly the person you should be directing your anger at, or is she simply the easiest target?

On multiple occasions, attendees have disrupted former Vice President Kamala Harris on her book tour. For some reason, they keep wanting her to help solve America’s problems after America chose not to hire her.

In response to one of these interruptions, she stated, “So here’s the thing, I am not president. And if you want to talk about legacy, let’s talk about the legacy of mass deportations, of people not voting, and Donald Trump.”

With this comment, she sounded almost exactly like someone else responding to a heckler during a recent public speaking engagement.

“Sir, I’m not the President of the United States, currently,” former President Barack Obama said last month during a talk with Steve Scully at the Jefferson Educational Society in Pennsylvania. “So, there’s no point in shouting at me. There’s no point in shouting at me about it. I’m not in charge of foreign policy, currently.”

(Instagram @kamalaharris)

Yelling and screaming at those who are not in office has become a misguided way to express frustration with the new regime. Their irritation increased once they realized that Black people aren’t in a position to save America from itself anymore.

At least five protestors interrupted Harris during her stop in Chicago. Most of the outbursts on her book tour have focused on how they felt she handled Israel’s war in Gaza. This week, Harris released a statement on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, as 20 hostages returned home. She said that she was “thankful and deeply encouraged,” and that there is still “much work to do to secure a lasting peace.”

Social media has been filled with clips of the outbursts and exchanges Harris has faced while on tour. Her responses are those of a woman who is over having her intellect, motives, and work ethic questioned. The goalposts were constantly moved on her—something her white male counterparts never had to deal with.

“Are you the same person who was telling people not to vote?”

“And please pronounce my name correctly.”

“I’m not president right now. There’s nothing I can do.”

“What’s happening to the Palestinian people is outrageous and it breaks my heart. Donald Trump has given Netanyahu a blank check to do whatever he wants.”

“You know what? I am not president of the United States. You wanna go to the White House and talk to him, then go on and do that.”

The issue with this misplaced anger that’s been focused on Harris is that it often targets those who are not complicit, while allowing the actual culprits to escape criticism. This does not mean that Harris’ and Obama’s decisions and policies during their time in the White House are beyond reproach—they are not immune just because they have reached term limits or lost elections.

But why does it feel like this distinct level of vitriol is reserved for Democrats—and Black ones at that?

And given everything that has happened since a certain administration took office in January, why don’t we see the same kind of behavior taking place when members of that party make public appearances?

Let’s not pretend we don’t know the answers to these questions, and let’s recognize that race is undoubtedly a factor, especially when this treatment is uniquely applied to a specific group of individuals. People who, despite what’s happened to them for centuries in this country, still make significant contributions to the betterment of America.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s fueled the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. With President Lyndon B. Johnson’s help, Black Americans helped enact laws that forbid discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, while giving the right to vote to citizens who weren’t white. This is the foundation that Affirmative Action and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) movement were built on. Two courses of action focused on leveling the playing field and making the scales more balanced. However, no group has benefitted more than white women from the fruits of this movement, something never more apparent than in today’s anti-DEI climate—yet usually denied. If things were genuinely “equitable,” then Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard would endure what Harris does whenever they speak publicly.

In the coming months, millions will be on the verge of potentially losing their healthcare/paying expensive premiums because they voted for a man who opposed Obamacare, as they are too stupid to realize that it’s the same thing as the Affordable Care Act. But instead of thanking Black Americans for their contributions, it appears some would just prefer to complain or shout from their seats.

At the core of this situation is a troubling mix of racism, misogyny, and cowardice. These hecklers would never dare to act in this manner towards President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, or any members of their political party and administration. Since Kamala Harris is not currently in office to enact change on these issues, she’s become the lowest-hanging fruit. The imagery of the previous sentence is no more grotesque than the reality of how such malice has historically been wielded against Black Americans and people of color in this country.

In the memoir for which she is currently on a book tour, “107 Days,” Kamala Harris includes a quote from Italian software expert Alberto Brandolini: “The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” It’s the perfect summation for a woman who wrote a book to speak her truth, only for it to also be true that her race and gender are the only reasons why some people are purchasing tickets just to yell and scream at her.

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Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University.