Meet KErri
Who is Kerri Evelyn Harris?
In 2018, veteran, activist, community advocate, and organizer Kerri Evelyn Harris transformed and invigorated the race for the United States Senate in the state of Delaware.
By standing unapologetically for criminal justice reform -- emphasizing restorative justice and ending mass incarceration, while also providing economic opportunities for returning citizens; Harris demonstrated a keen understanding of the current crisis of mass incarceration, recidivism, and the disproportionate ways institutionalized racism and economic injustice penalize low-income people and people of color.
Kerri Evelyn Harris proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to inflation. By insisting on increasing wages for the lowest-paid, Harris exposes the lie of simply providing jobs to combat poverty, forcing the recognition that stagnant wages are actually a form of oppression.
In addition, Harris defended educational access and environmental safeguards. All while fighting against the Bank Lobbyist Bill which weakened Dodd-Frank and has made it easier for communities to experience red-lining and predatory lending.
As a citizen, a leader, an activist, a worker, a mother, a veteran and a queer woman of color, Kerri stood for the people of the state of Delaware and across America. Harris had a vision, but as an organizer, she encouraged us to see and imagine not what was, but move toward what could and should be.
In her own words, Kerri declared, “We need to see past what the original vision is and see what the future looks like when you change it.” This is not a passive statement, Harris invited us to imagine, then create, communities that are fair, healthy and thriving; to build a Delaware and an America that have never existed, to build the Delaware and America we deserve. Harris changed the political territory of Delaware and by extension, all of America.
Kerri continues her work within the state of Delaware and nationwide as she feels it is her duty to fight to improve the lives of her fellow Americans; building coalitions and promoting people-centered policies is her personal mission in life.
Kerri is most closely affiliated with the organizations listed below, yet she helps whenever and wherever possible:
Delaware:
Delaware State Representative
Delaware Chapter of the MidAtlantic Justice Coalition
Delaware Center for Justice - Board Vice-President
State Human Relations Commission - Commissioner
Delaware Democratic Party - National Committeewoman
Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement (DelACA) - Operating as Opportunity Knocks for Delaware (OK Delaware)
Poor People’s Campaign Delaware - Founding Member
Nationwide:
Namati - USEJ Program Advisor
DNC Disability Caucus - Chair
Working Hero Action - Former National Advocacy Director
Medicare for All NOW! - Former Movement Strategy Director
Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) - Non-profit Affiliate