Kamala Harris VP Pick: Deploying Capital in this Movement

Aug 13, 2020 | By Eric Eve

Now months into the national discussion on systemic racism, the first question I still get from corporate and foundation CEO’s is how do we understand the structural inequity problem in our space and what can we do to fix it? Then 30 minutes into the call the real question emerges …how long will it last? The “it” is the painfully intense and ever-growing demand for action from employees, customers, activists and policy makers. My answer is always the same. That intensity is 400 years in the making and won’t decline anytime soon. The pleas for change won’t let up.

Vice President Biden’s historic selection of Senator Kamala Harris suggests we all settle in for a bit and get acquainted with that intensity. Her powerful voice over the next 90 days, and possibly through 2024, will reverberate into every federal, state and local election for years to come.

Beyond this historic decision, Congress is breaking records on several fronts:

There are 56 Black members of the 116th Congress
130 Black women are running for the 117th Congress and 44 have won their party’s nomination as of August 6.

All of these efforts will impact the generations that follow, which further suggests we stop counting the months and get to work crafting solutions.

While I typically talk to clients about equity in the context of financial capital tied to grants or corporate budgets, I talk to old friends in government about political capital. As someone who has deployed both types of capital throughout my career— from Air Force One (political) to the board room (financial)—I see the striking similarities between the two. As CEO’s search for transformational leadership in the midst of rising uncertainty and national awakening on equity., they can learn from Biden’s master class on capital deployment.

The traditional calculus for the VP selection has been the binary choice between win or fit. Biden, like leaders allocating capital in other spaces, rejected the binary choice. He stole a page from Lincoln, selecting a strong former opponent and explained the fit. Harris has not only strengthened Biden’s White House plans, but together they have reshaped the 117th Congressional equation, a critical partner he knows better than anyone else. At the same time, his transformational choice has made history and helped us reimagine an American Dream so many saw fading.

My daughter, far more intelligent than her dad, debated Pomona classmates last fall by arguing Biden would be the nominee and Harris his running mate. Her calculus was sharp. In her eyes today I see the shine Sen. Harris has spoken of, a hope and determination sure to emerge in millions more this season. I don’t imagine it’s going away anytime soon.