On 21 January, California senator Kamala Harris officially announced her run for the presidency. Since being first elected to office over 14 years ago, Harris has proven she’s a force to be reckoned with. Now with her bid to become president, she has been catapulted to the very fore of US politics.

For me and many other black women, the presidential candidacy of a fellow black woman is more than exciting. But, only days after Harris’s announcement, I have already faced the assumption and even expectation – by people within and beyond my community – that I will automatically vote for her. No one, however, should take black women’s support for Harris for granted.

Like many people of color and progressives, Harris’s previous record gives me serious pause. Any candidate for office who has been a prosecutor in a racially biased criminal justice system must account for the ways in which she minimized that system’s harm or perpetuated its failures. At various points throughout her career, Harris has supported policies that have contributed to a broken criminal justice system that harms people of color at disproportionate and alarming rates.

As California’s attorney general, Harris blocked the release of non-violent offenders on the premise that they may lower the prison labor pool and threatened to enforce a one-year prison sentence for parents whose children were truant. Policies like these disproportionately harm low-income families. Truancy policies that impose jail sentences are often coupled with court fees of $300 an unexcused absence.

The court fees, (and possible loss of employment due to incarceration) could prove dire for families already living below the poverty line. Equally important, there is no empirical evidence that incarcerating parents for truancy is an effective strategy for increasing school attendance. There is however, evidence that while truancy is an issue faced in many schools in America, families most affected by harsh enforcements are those with low incomes and families of color.

As many Democratic candidates have proven to us in the past, when the price of our loyalty is that low, we get very little in return

Furthermore, the abuse of power and other forms of prosecutorial misconduct is a glaring problem in the criminal justice system. Yet Harris defended a Kern county prosecutor who committed “outrageous government misconduct” by reportedly falsifying the confession of a defendant who was “later used to threaten a life sentence”.

These are not facts that can be ignored, despite the enthusiasm around Harris, and even an innate impulse I feel to protect her. Black female candidates are poorly represented in our politics. I am worried about the inevitable sexist and racist attacks Harris will probably endure during this campaign. Simply existing as a black woman ensures that Harris is constantly under siege. America is both painfully unforgiving of our mistakes and fully committed to profiting from our success. It is a challenging intersection to navigate, and even the slightest mistake can prove fatal.

Still: black women, people of color and progressives supporting Harris need to ask tough questions about this record. This may feel like unnecessary scrutiny of an already vulnerable candidate. Yet, supporting her without at least inquiring about her decisions as a prosecutor would be tantamount to pledging our allegiance to symbolism. As many Democratic candidates have proven to us in the past, when the price of our loyalty is that low, we get very little in return. And despite thinly veiled assumptions that black people are politically apathetic, our collective voting power is undeniable.

The power of black people’s organizing, voices and votes have delivered historical elections for this country. We have used strategic grassroots organizing and voting to turn red states blue, as we did by unseating the Republican incumbent Ray Moore in Alabama. The brilliant campaign ran by Stacey Abrams was another example of the ways in which we can shake the table and serve as the impetus for political progress.

This power is recognized by politicians, but recognition is no longer enough. Relying on our vote without earning it and developing a strong plan to address systemic inequality is no longer enough.

Black women and people of color cannot afford to equate seeking accountability and strong policies with disloyalty. In fact, loyalty to our community requires us to demand the most from candidates seeking the highest office in the country. It is our duty to help them reckon with the ways they may have harmed us in the past. And it is our responsibility to demand a clear plan on how they will fight for us in the future. We deserve nothing less.

Despite obvious concerns, I remain hopeful about Harris. But more importantly, I am committed to helping ensure my community is no longer courted during election season and disregarded once the votes are cast. And that means challenging candidates I might otherwise want to protect – including Kamala Harris.