When Vice President Kamala Harris walked into her ceremonial office on Monday, a room full of Black women greeted her there in-person and on Zoom, waiting for some deliverables…

Underneath the policy talk was a more personal appeal from the assembled women, one that reflected a collective desire to see Harris prove her detractors wrong. The Black community, they stressed, wanted to see more of her, and they wanted to be called on more to help out where they could, serving as her “ambassadors.” There was a sense of shared protectiveness over the accomplishments of Harris as the first woman of color to serve in the executive office, with multiple women who attended the meeting saying they wanted to make sure that the first chance that Black women have to lead is successful.

“Her failing is not an option,” said Shavon Arline-Bradley, president and chair of D4 In Action. “One thing we talked about is ensuring that she has ambassadors that can actually speak to this. Kind of connecting to her personally, who is Kamala? The entire person, the politician, the leader, the wife, the mother. Connecting [all of] that does make our mission as black women fighting for this work even more important than ever.”