Open letter urges Joe Biden to pick woman of colour as running mate against Donald Trump

Amid the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States of America, around 200 black women have signed an open letter urging Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to choose a 'women of colour' as his running mate.

This comes after former US Vice President Biden's earlier announcement that he would choose a woman as his running mate. The letter also includes a list of several potential candidates. Among those who signed the letter are: Pauletta Washington, former chairman and president of the US Tennis Association, actors Vanessa Williams, Latanya Richardson Jackson, the first female African American president of Spelman College, Johnnetta Cole.

The letter states: "We urge you to seize this historic opportunity to choose a Black woman running mate who will fight for the issues that matter most to the American people and help deliver a decisive victory and a successful Biden presidency."

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Meanwhile, Biden’s search committee has narrowed the choices of his running mate, as per reports in US media. After initial interviews, the top name includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser. Other shortlisted are Florida Rep. Val Demings and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, both of whom are black, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Latina.

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Joe Biden clinches Democratic presidential nomination

Joe Biden on June 6 secured the delegate threshold to officially clinch the Democratic presidential nomination for general elections in November. While Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee for months after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew from primary elections, his latest series of wins across the US helped him secure 1,991 unpledged delegates necessary to officially clinch the nomination.

READ | Joe Biden Wins Democratic Presidential Primary in Georgia, consolidates his position

Biden on protests against death of George Floyd

Biden has sharpened his attack against US President Donald Trump amid growing civil unrest over the death of George Floyd in police custody. He accused Trump of divisive politics and called him dangerously unfit to lead our nation through a difficult time in America’s history. However, he said that the US is building the movement to not only defeat Trump but also to transform the nation,

“I truly believe that when we stand together, finally, as One America, we will rise stronger than before. This is the United States of America. There is nothing we can’t do, if we do it together,” said the septuagenarian leader.

READ | Biden Slams Trump For Pulling George Floyd Into His White House Address On Unemployment