VP nominee Kamala Harris on her lifelong fight for freedom
By Sabrina Reed
Kamala Harris spoke with Elle about her lifelong fight for freedom, optimism as fuel, and her duty as an American citizen. Here are some of the highlights!
2020 has been a historic year. One that has tested our nation’s ability to thrive in the face of adversity and weather tragedy as countrymen. We are more polarized than we’ve ever been in recent memory, and our sense of unity has flagged dangerously.
Though perhaps that is due to a misunderstanding of what true unity is. In a recent interview with Elle Magazine, Vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris spoke to Ashley C. Ford about how unity has been misrepresented.
Harris told Ford:
"[Unity] is not what some people might think, which is, ‘Hey everybody, come in the room, we’re all in the room together.’ No. Because what if one person in that room is telling another, ‘Oh, tone that down a little bit. This is not a time to talk about that. Be a little bit quieter about that for the sake of unity.’ That’s not unity. Unity is when everyone is respected and has an equal voice. We have to be very clear-eyed about what we mean, and that what we mean is not about a Hallmark card."
The definition of unity provided by Harris refuses to center the idea that only the topics that are comfortable and won’t ruffle feathers are suitable for discussion. It’s a definition that takes into account the state of our nation and the course of our future.
Election day (November 3) is less than a month away. We’re in the middle of a political climate that has been overcast by a deadly virus that has infected 7.5 million Americans–including the president and the first lady—and has claimed 210,915 American lives.
Protesting has been sustained for nearly half the year in major cities across the country as citizens call for police reform, the defunding of its organizations, and, in some cases, the abolishing of the police force in the United States altogether.
We’re a nation on the brink, and while some may find that statement dramatic, Ford gives voice to those of us who see this election as crucial to our country’s survival. At two separate points in the interview, Ford brings up the notion of hope.
“Depending on whom you ask, hope is either the territory of the naive or the antidote to our shared pain,” Ford says, later adding that “I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels like hope is in high demand and low supply, these days, but we’re all still searching.”
For voters who are against a second term for President Trump, Harris is a symbol of hope. Not only in terms of progress if she were to rise to the second-highest seat in the land–becoming the first woman of any race to hold the position–but also in the possibility of an economic turnaround that benefits working people, better management of the pandemic, and actual change in race relations, police conduct, and criminal justice reform.
Harris describes herself as a fighter, one who is not accustomed to asking permission. She tells Ford, “I’m used to being in the executive branch and getting things done…that’s why I’ve run for most offices I have run for because I’m not so good sometimes at asking for permission.”
As someone raised by two civil rights activists in a family in which she was expected to defend her positions and beliefs, Harris wouldn’t be a woman who waits for someone else to acquiesce to her ideas or demands.
When speaking with Ford, Harris provided an example involving General John F. Kelly during the Muslim ban that caused mass confusion at airports, undue stress to families, and threw into question the status of marriages and adoptions.
At the time, Kelly was the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Harris was receiving calls from civil rights lawyers who couldn’t get in touch with their clients. So, Harris found Kelly’s home phone number and called him directly.
She tells Ford:
"First thing he says to me: ‘How’d you get my number? Why are you calling me at home?’…She says she told him she was calling “Because I’m a United States senator who represents one out of 11 Americans, and you right now have a situation that you need to explain to me about why your people aren’t letting them see their lawyers.”"
It’s the kind of story that gives you chills because of the no-nonsense tone of voice Harris has displayed in her tenure as a senator. She does not tiptoe or pussyfoot around issues, she cuts straight to the point and commands respect.
That’s largely due to her sense of duty. Harris says she’s been “defending a person’s right to dignity from day one of her time in Washington.”
In truth, Harris has been defending that right since she was a child. Ford opens her interview with a story about a stroller-bound Harris attending a civil rights march with her parents and uncle in Oakland, California.
According to Harris’ mother, Harris had fallen out of her stroller without their notice. Upon doubling back to retrieve her daughter, Shyamala Gopalan asked a fussing Harris what she needed, and she answered, “Fweedom.”
In Harris’ family, it was expected that they dedicated their lives to fighting for justice. An ideal that Harris sees as being steeped in the empowerment of the people. A quality that is not granted by any given person, but rather an inherent right for every American citizen.
Harris’ fighting spirit is fueled by optimism. She believes an informed person is an empowered person, and an informed person can seek justice for themselves, their communities, and the nation as a whole.
Next. Dascha Polanco urges potential voters to #FeedtheVote. dark