The letter, signed by black women working in the public and private sectors, listed several potential candidates: former Georgia governor candidate Stacey Abrams, Rep. California Karen Bass, Rep. Rep. Florida. Karen Demings, Rep. Ohio Marcia Fudge, California Senator Kamala Harris, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and former national security adviser Susan Rice.
The letter reads, “we urge you to take this historic opportunity to choose a pair of prospective black women who will fight for the most important issues for the American people and help deliver a decisive victory and a successful Biden presidency.”
It said the women listed “had the principled experience, qualifications and core values of a true leader who would make the right pair to help throw Democrats to victory in November.”
The letter is the latest sign of public pressure Biden and his campaign are facing to elect a colored woman to become a Democratic ticket in November.
Signers included actors Vanessa Williams, Latanya Richardson Jackson and Pauletta Washington, former chairman and president of the US Tennis Association, Katrina Adams, former editor in chief of Essence magazine, Susan Taylor, and Spelman’s College’s first African-American female president, Johnnetta Cole.
Abrams, who said he would be honored to accept the position and that he would make a “very good partner,” told ABC “The View” this week that “we need a ticket that reflects American diversity.”
Abrams said, “colored women, especially black women, are the strongest part of the Democratic Party, the most loyal, but loyalty is not just how we vote, it’s the way we work, and if we want to signal that the work will continue , that we will reach not only for certain segments of our community, but throughout the country, we need tickets that reflect the diversity of America. “
South Carolina representative Jim Clyburn, an influential congressman and third-rate Democrat on the House of Representatives, also said he preferred Biden to elect a black woman. Clyburn’s support saw Biden win a decisive victory in a critical South Carolina contest, which revived his campaign and put Biden on track to win the Democratic nomination.
“I did not tell anyone that it was something that I thought should be done. I just thought that was what I liked,” said Clyburn, who has not directly advised the former vice president about his choice.
Civil rights icons and Rep. Georgia John Lewis, who is one of the most respected members of the African American Congress, urged Biden to choose a woman who reflected the country.
“It would be better to have a woman of color. It would be better to have a woman,” Lewis said. “It would be better to have a woman who looks like other Americans – smart, talented, warriors, warriors. And we have many capable women, some black, white, Latino, Asian American, Native American. I think the time has long been made The White House looks like the whole of America. “
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan were also mentioned in talks by former vice-president as a potential candidate.
Biden said earlier this month that he hoped the group that would examine potential candidates for vice-president would be formed on May 1 and that the list of candidates would be narrowed in July.
Only two women became vice presidential candidates for major parties in the US: former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008 and former Rep. New York, Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
Arlette Saenz and DJ Judd from CNN contributed to this report.
