Flashback: Kamala Harris seeks to define ‘equity’ vs. 'equality'
Vice President Harris, who has secured the Democratic nomination for president, made fighting for "equity" a large part of her role within the Biden administration.
Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee for president, has pushed an "equity" over "equality" message as part of the Biden administration's policies, something she also spoke about as President Biden's running mate and during her 2020 bid for the presidency.
One of her early mentions of equity came in the 2020 election cycle, after Joe Biden put her on his ticket. Harris posted an animated video explaining the difference between "equality and equity," which was criticized at the time and even compared to the beliefs of Karl Marx.
Equity, which she has repeatedly defined as a means of distributing and assistance in a way that allows everyone to end up "at the same place," was integrated into Biden administration policy early on, as Harris and President Biden responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the creation of the Health Equity Task Force.
Harris, who narrates the video, said, "equality suggests, 'oh everyone should get the same amount.' The problem with that, not everyone is starting out at the same place."
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"It's about giving people the resources and the support they need, so that everyone can be on equal footing and compete on equal footing," she added.
Former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, a major critic of former President Trump, said at the time that Harris' animated explanation sounded "just like Karl Marx."
While Harris was still a candidate for president, she was asked by The Grio if she supported reparations for Black Americans, and spoke to the idea that everyone didn't start at the same place.
"We had over 200 years of slavery. We had Jim Crow for almost a century. We had legalized discrimination, segregation and now we have segregation and discrimination that isn't legal but still exists and is a barrier to progress. We have disparities around housing, we have disparities around education, we have disparities around income, and we have to recognize that everybody did not start out on an equal footing in this country and, in particular, Black people have not," Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris attends an infrastructure event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House on June 3, 2021. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
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She also cited some legislation she proposed as a senator, The Lift Act, and said at the time that when you "take into account that they're not starting at the same place, they're not starting on equal footing," the policy would directly benefit Black Americans because "the disparities are so significant."
Harris spoke about equity and specifically, equitable distribution, during a Black History Month event in February 2021.
"We are also talking much more rightly about equity, understanding that we must be clear-eyed about the fact that, yes, we want everyone to get an equal amount — that sounds right — but not everyone starts out from the same place. Some people start out on first base; some people start out on third base. And if the goal is truly about equality, it has to be about a goal of saying everybody should end up in the same place. And since we didn’t start in the same place. Some folks might need more: equitable distribution," she said.
In July 2021, Harris centered equity during a speech on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"This is a fight that is a civil rights fight, a human rights fight," she said. "This is about equity, and whether or not we are truly committed to the principles of equity in every way that we as government and as a society can enforce those important principles."
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The vice president spoke with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the Freedman's Bank forum in December 2021 about putting "equity firmly at the center" of the Biden administration's economic policy.
Yellen insured equity within the Treasury Department was being addressed during their conversation, and said they completed the "Treasury's first equity review," which included "looking across the department and asking: Where are our operations not as inclusive as they could be?"
During the Freedman's Bank Forum in October 2022, Harris said the administration needed to address the people who can't access enough capital to start a business, as well as families who can't buy a home, and students who can't access education because they live in an "undeserved community" or don't benefit from "intergenerational wealth."
"So let’s deal with that disconnect — which we also refer to as disparities, because we see that people in our country are having an experience that is not equal. And that’s why we talk about equity, because we recognize not everybody starts out on the same base. They don’t start out in the same place, even though they have the same God-given capacity," Harris said during the forum.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks as President Biden listens in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 26, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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The vice president went viral in September 2022 during an interview with Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum. The vice president spoke about the government's response to Hurricane Ian, which tore apart communities in Florida and the Carolinas, and went on to discuss plans to address the climate, touting that she started one of the first "environmental justice offices" as San Francisco District Attorney.
"Our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making," she told Jonas during the interview.
"We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity; understanding that not everyone starts out at the same place. And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work," she continued.
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Harris also repeated her equity message while speaking to a group of Black business owners and entrepreneurs in May 2023.
"We do talk about equity. We actually believe it is a good principle, in spite of what some so-called leaders might try to suggest. We are proud of the fact that equity is one of our guiding principles, proud of the fact that we understand equality is important, but not everybody starts out on the same base," Harris said.
Repeating the familiar definition, Harris said equality assumes everyone started at the same spot.
"Equity takes into account that may not be the case, but we want to give everyone an equal opportunity to compete and to not only survive but thrive," the vice president said.
That same month, Harris said at the White House, "Equity is everyone deserves to have — right? — and be treated equal. But equity understands that not everybody starts out on the same base. So, if you’re giving everybody an equal amount but they’re starting out on different bases, are they really going to have the opportunity to compete and achieve? That’s why we purposefully, as an administration … are so dedicated to a specific principle, which is that of equity."
Vice President Harris has sought to define "equity" over her term as vice president. (Getty Images)
Harris touted that the Biden administration was dedicated to the specific principle of "equity" during a swearing-in ceremony of the President’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
She echoed her many descriptions of equity in 2023 and said, "if you’re giving everybody an equal amount but they’re starting out on different bases, are they really going to have the opportunity to compete and achieve?"
Harris quickly ascended to the Democratic nomination after President Biden dropped out of the race last month and endorsed her. On the campaign trail, she's said, "We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead," but the term "equity" hasn't specifically come up in her remarks.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
Fox News' Ramiro Vargas and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
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