After crossing paths with the vice president multiple times, the 'Abbott Elementary' actress even joined her on a trip to Ghana last year.
(John Salangsang/Variety via Getty; Slaven Vlasic/Getty)
Vice President Kamala Harris and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph plan to team up during an official campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, May 8, to fire voters up about the ongoing threats to women's freedoms.
The event will be a reunion of sorts for the two, who crossed paths at a Philadelphia mobilization event during Harris' 2020 vice presidential campaign — and who traveled to Ghana together in the spring of 2023.
After Ralph's notable Emmys win in 2022 for her supporting role in Abbott Elementary — in which she became only the second Black woman to win in her category, and the first since 1987 — the actress revealed that Harris called her to extend congratulations. "She called and I had to say, ‘We did it Kamala. We did it,’" Ralph told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "It was great."
At a "Bans Off Our Bodies" rally in Harrisburg, Pa., after the Supreme Court's Dobbs opinion was leaked in 2022, Ralph spoke out against the government interfering with a woman's right to make decisions about her own health.
(Mark Makela/Getty)
“No matter what you believe, I believe this is my body... No one else should have the right to tell me what to do with my own body,” Ralph said, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. “No more wire hangers. We’ve got work to do.”
Ralph's vocal endorsement of reproductive freedom aligns with Harris' commitment to prioritize women's rights in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Their collaborative gathering in Montgomery County, Pa., on Wednesday coincides with the vice president's nationwide tour addressing persistent challenges to women's health.
On May 1, amidst the enforcement of Florida's six-week abortion ban, Harris made an appearance in Jacksonville to highlight the repercussions: not only do such stringent state laws roll back the protections established by Roe v. Wade, but they also restrict abortion access before many women even realize they're pregnant. Furthermore, these extreme bans like Florida's pose a threat to medical professionals who are simply doing their jobs.
"Basically under Donald Trump, it would be fair game for women to be monitored and punished by the government, whereas Joe Biden and I have a different view," she told the crowd. "We believe the government should never come between a woman and her doctor.”
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