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The selection of California Senator Kamala Harris to be the vice-presidential running mate of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has sparked a wide range of reactions amongst Black people and communities of color.

Following the initial jubilation, she was inundated with criticisms about her record as a prosecutor and attorney general — rightly so, I might add. As a law enforcement official, she was especially tough on crime and opposed many of the same positions that she now holds a more progressive stance on. This type of “evolution” is commonplace for politicians that are seeking to align their positions with the public’s sentiments.

Is this OK? Meh. Does it still happen? All. The. Time. So why are we holding Sen. Harris to a different standard than the litany of candidates that we’ve elected in years past?

Sen. Harris participated in an oppressive system. She has perpetuated it even. However, her actions are no more egregious than the injustices committed by candidates that we adorn and hold in high esteem.

It was Black people who revived Joe Biden’s faltering campaign in the South Carolina primary, despite his sponsoring the 1994 crime bill that made way for increased incarceration of Black men. Furthermore, the Obama-Biden administration was notorious for its immigration policy that resulted in the deportation of thousands of undocumented people with no criminal record. Lest we forget our broad cultural incarnation of President Clinton as, “the first Black president,” while his signature of said crime bill solidified the school to prison pipeline that disproportionately criminalized Black children.

Systematic injustice and inequity are baked in the governing structures of this country. It’s unfair to expect Sen. Harris to single-handedly have undone these centuries-old structures. Criticisms of her record should be left at that — criticism. Her record has just as many blemishes as it does successes and stacks up against any other individual that has risen to the celebrity-realm of national politics. This is not to undermine the lives that were directly impacted by her enforcement of these failed policies. Did she have the power to be a catalyst for change? Yes. Was she? Not in all instances. But holding her to a different standard of expectation is unfair, short-sided and inherently anti-Black.

Ascending to the White House comes with a great deal of complicity and, indeed, both former Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris have been complicit. Complicit in participating in systems and structures that are designed to reinforce inequity and injustice. However, to suggest that their candidacy is no better than the status quo is to set Black people back even further.

The status quo is a threat to human existence. That is not a fear tactic. It is our very sobering reality. The gross ineptitude of the current occupant of the White House (and his supporters) feels emboldened to roll back the progress that our forefathers and foremothers have made possible for us to bask in. We dishonor their work, their lives and their legacies by abdicating our responsibility to vote this fall. While Sen. Harris and Vice President Biden don’t pass the purity tests that our current moment calls for, electing them will enable us to hold them accountable, and keep fighting for a more just and equitable country.