By Cat Swartbooi
U.S President Joe Biden has named Karine Jean-Pierre as his newest top spokesperson-the first black woman who has held the role.
This groundbreaking announcement underscores Biden’s emphasis on placing black women in positions of power. She joins incoming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Vice President Kamala Harris and a handful of officials and prominent judges that the Biden administration has appointed.
‘Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people.” President Biden said in a statement.
Press secretaries conduct daily news briefings with White House reporters; she is essentially the presidential administration’s face to the media. The highest-profile public-facing staff job in the White House. Jean-Pierre will be the first black woman White House press secretary.
During the formal announcement of Jean-Pierre’s new role, her predecessor Jen Psaki, fighting back the tears from the briefing room podium, partly said that having a black woman in such high-profile position “will give a voice to so many.”
Ms Karine Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique and immigrated to the U.S as a child, and was raised in Queens, New York. This isn’t Karine’s first introduction to the White House; throughout her career, she has bounced between Democratic Political Campaigns and left-leaning organizations. Jean-Pierre served on both of Obama’s campaigns as a key political director. She has also acted as chief public affairs officer of MoveOn.org, the chief of staff to Kamala Harris after she was chosen as President Biden’s vice-presidential nominee. She has also served as deputy press secretary since the start of the Biden-Harris administration and has filled in for Psaki as press secretary, making her the second black woman filling the role temporarily.
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