Kamala Harris' candidacy energizes Bay Area Asian and Black Democrats
SAN FRANCISCO -- With 100 days left until the Nov. 5 general election, Democrats were busy campaigning on both sides of the San Francisco Bay on Sunday.
In San Francisco, Rev. Amos Brown, longtime pastor of Third Baptist Church launched "100 Days of Prayer" in support of Kamala Harris.
In Oakland Chinatown, Congressman Adam Schiff who is campaigning for the U.S. Senate held a meet-and-greet event to court Asian votes.
Milpitas councilman Anthony Phan attended the Schiff event. The young Democrat believes the November election will shape the country for years to come.
"For me in particular, I constantly worry about crimes against Asian Americans, worrying about my mom going to the grocery store," Phan said.
He said he worries a Trump presidency will create a deeper divide in the nation and foster hate against Asian Americans.
"This is not my grandfather's Republican Party. Vietnamese Americans and Asian Americans need to remind themselves this is not Reagan we're talking about here. Reagan would never do the kind of things that Mr. Trump did," Phan said.
He is optimistic and encouraged that Joe Biden passed the torch to Harris.
Congressman Schiff was one of the prominent Democrats who urged Biden to end his re-election bid.
"With (Biden's) help, with all of us pushing, Kamala Harris will be our next president," Rep. Schiff said.
He believes the Asian voting block and young voters will be important in his race and in the swing states for the presidential race.
"Young people who may very well decide this election either by voting or by staying home, now feel a very strong and compelling reason to turn out and vote," Schiff said.
Rev. Brown of the San Francisco NAACP is also working with faith leaders across the country to encourage Black voters to turn out for Harris.
"People have the responsibility of using their heads for more than a hat rack but really being critical thinkers," said Rev. Brown, who was Vice President Harris' pastor when she worked in the city.
"For the next 100 days, three times a day, there would be prayers in faith communities all across this nation," Rev. Brown said.
Phan said that, with different communities working to support Harris, he's hopeful she'll be the first female president of the U.S.
"It breaks the barriers and it allows a pathway for further, deeper representation of Asian Americans in the highest level of government," Phan said.
