Please stop saying Kamala Harris would be "the first black woman President."

This is a very common phrase in the news, and it should stop.

If Kamala Harris wins in 2020, she will be the first woman President, which is a big first. She will also be the second black President, which is worth saying but not as big a deal. If there had already been a woman President and she were the second woman President and the second black President, it would be a good idea to call her "the first black woman President."

The term "the first black woman President" puts her in a smaller category, making the first a smaller step. If you say Kamala Harris would be "the first black woman President," you're implying that later some candidate would have the distinction of being "the first white woman President." But we are not going to say that. The accomplishment in the offing is first woman President. First black President already happened.

"First black woman President" should only be the stock phrase if that's the largest category in which a first is still possible. It made sense to talk about Stacey Abrams as potentially "the first black woman governor" in America because there have been black governors and there have been female governors, but never yet a black female governor.

I anticipate that many of you are about to comment that you wish people would stop talking about race and gender and just see people as individuals. But my argument above suggests why that's a bad idea for the comments on this post. We've already had that discussion, and this is a new topic. See the value of the specific thing that is new.