Jenny O'Donnell
Latest posts by Jenny O'Donnell (see all)
- Personal Trainer Gained 70 Pounds And A New Perspective
"The training may be the same, [but] the trainer is different."
- September 14, 2016 - Claressa Shields: Flint Michigan’s New Hope for the 2016 Olympics
Shields Made HERstory as the first American Boxer to Win Two Gold Medals
- August 21, 2016 - We all know Hillary. But Who’s Tim Kaine?
Hillary’s Pick for VP Has A Long History Fighting For Civil Rights.
- July 29, 2016
Hillary Clinton seems to be exhausting the news cycle lately. Love her or hate her, she made history this week at the Democratic National Convention by becoming the first female party nominee for president.
But what about her pick for V.P., the amiable, somewhat awkward Tim Kaine?
The Internet has been obsessing lately over his Dad-like qualities. But as it turns out, he’s more than just another politician.
Kaine was raised in Kansas City, a bookish student who attended a Jesuit high school while working for his father’s iron welding business. It was here, Kaine says, that “started a transformation,” sparking his passion for social justice and the poor. He attended the University of Missouri before going on to Harvard Law School and took a year off to do missionary work in Honduras.
After Kaine graduated from Harvard, he followed his newlywed wife Anne to Virginia, wanting to become a civil-rights lawyer. He moved to Richmond and ended up working on one of the biggest housing-discrimination lawsuits in the state’s history, winning a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Nationwide Insurance. The company had been accused of discriminating against Black residents in 1997.
Kaine made a noticeable impact in a somewhat racially-divided Richmond. Led by his Catholic faith, he sent his kids to integrated schools, attended a predominantly Black community church (that his family still attends today), and ran successfully for Mayor after serving with the majority-Black city council.
After successfully running for Senator and Governor of Virginia, he was, in his words, “committed to fully restoring the Voting Rights Act” after legislation curtailed voting abilities of Black voters. And though he didn’t fully restore voting rights for ex-convicts, an issue that has a huge impact on the Black community, he co-sponsored a bill in 2013 to revamp voting rights for minorities.
Another point of controversy for Kaine was the reported $160,000 worth of gifts he accepted during his tenure as governor and lieutenant governor, though these were in full compliance with Virginia law and mostly consisted of travel expenditures.
“I do what I do for spiritual reasons,” Kaine said in a recent C-SPAN interview. Whatever the reasons behind his work, Clinton was strategic in picking Kaine for her running mate. Only time will tell if this “dad” has enough street cred to sway minority voters.
