October 28, 2024 • 37 mins
A BIN exclusive! Host Ramses Ja talks with Maya Harris, former policy advisor for Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign and current chair of the 2020 Presidential campaign for her sister, Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Maya Harris is an American lawyer, public policy advocate, and writer.
She was one of three senior policy advisors for Hillary
Clinton's twenty sixteen presidential campaigns policy agenda, and she also
served as chair of the twenty twenty presidential campaign of
her sister, Kamala Harris. Now supporting her sister's bid for
the presidency, Maya joins us to discuss the campaign, policy,
(00:23):
and the future of our democracy. This is the Black
Information Network Daily Podcast, and I'm your host, Ramses. Job
all right, Maya Harris, Welcome to the show. It's a
pleasure and an honor to have you on today. How
are you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I'm doing great, Ramses, and thank you for having me.
I'm delighted to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Absolutely. You know, it's funny because maybe three or four
days ago, we had a chance to sit down and
talk with your husband, and we had a fantastic conversation,
very inspiring conversation, and we had a tremendous reaction to
it online as well, and we had a chance to
kind of get into his background just a bit. I
(01:04):
know I gave a brief introduction, and I know that
we all are kind of familiar with your background, but
give us a little bit more, maybe the details we
might not know that are kind of specific to you
and not to you and your sister. Tell us a
little bit about just kind of your upbringing and kind
of what led you to today's conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Sure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
For that opportunity.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I well, I'm a lawyer by training, and I say
by training because I've done a lot more policy advocacy
than litigation.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
I did litigation earlier in my career, but I have
had a focus over the course of my life on
civil rights and social justice and have worked as an
advocate in a number of organizations like the American Civil
Liberties Union, which I head up the largest affiliate in.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
California for a period of time. But have worked on
those issues over a lifetime. And you know, I think
that that my career path has, you know, come from
the same upbringing that Comlin and I share, which is,
you know, growing up with parents who really instilled in
(02:20):
us an idea that we had a duty and a
responsibility to leave this world more fair and more adjust
for more people than we entered it, and really set
for us high expectations for us and what we could achieve.
But even greater expectations of us and and understanding of
(02:40):
an expectation of duty and responsibility to other people.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Okay, so obviously there's a lot of that stuff that
we know, especially those of us who've been very much
invested in this campaign. You know, there's there's a lot
of things that we know. We appreciate you kind of
telling us the parts of the story that makes you know,
your upbringing a little different from what we know, what
makes your path at a little bit more unique, I suppose.
(03:07):
But you know, not too many people can answer this question.
So while we have this opportunity, you know, for folks
who are really excited about the campaign and for folks
who you know, they might be questioning what kind of
person Kamala Harris really is behind you know, the politics
and the speeches and so forth, talk to us a
little bit about maybe what kind of sister Kamala Harris
(03:27):
is to you and what kind of sister you have
been to her?
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Well, I would say, I mean, she is an older sister,
so she has been very protective as an older sister.
You know, she's been an inspiration to me the way
she has been for so many other people. I mean,
she is someone who I have looked up to just
in terms of her leadership over a course of a lifetime,
and I mean demonstrated leadership even from when we were children,
(03:55):
and you know, her being fearless and courageous and tough
and just so resilient. I think all of those things
are things that I admire so much and respect about her.
And there're things that I have really seen in her
since we were children. And you know, her protectiveness to
(04:15):
you know that I've said that she has been toward me.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It's not just toward me as her younger sister, but
really to.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Everyone in her life. And you know, from her earliest.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Days, her best friend Stacy in kindergarten who's still a
very good friend of hers today. She and Stacy in
kindergarten literally were on the playground and some boy was
picking on Stacy and Kamala stepped into the situation, and
the boy turned on Kamala and he either picked up
a stick or a rock and he hit Kamala in
(04:47):
the face with it. And she still has a scar
on the side of her eye from that. But it's
sort of an example of what I mean when I
say that she has had that kind of stance or
instinct toward not only her younger sister, but toward you know,
everyone in that situation, stepping into defense stacy. She did
that again. I mean, she's done it so many times.
(05:09):
But there was another particular example of that that stands
out with her friend Wanda in high school, who had
been being molested by her stepfather and when Kamala found
out about that, Kamala said to Wanda, you need to
come stay with us. And you know, Kama came home
and asked my mom whether Wanda could come stay with
(05:29):
us and try to help navigate the situation, and of
course my mom said yes. But it, you know, again,
is just sort of an example of what I mean
about she has that protective instinct, but she also has,
you know, this sense of responsibility toward other people where
she will go into a situation where someone is vulnerable
(05:53):
or needs help or is you know, struggling to figure
something out and try to figure out how she can
be helpful and whether it's in lifting up the person
or getting them into a better situation. And that's just
something that you know, she has always been and so yes,
you protected toward her younger sister, but I've seen her
(06:14):
have that kind of sense of you know, compassion, protection,
empathy toward other people as well.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Right now, you're someone who is well known in the
political arena, So let's talk politics for a bit if
we may. In your estimation, let me figure out how
I want to ask this to you. How about this?
What are give me three major issues in the selection
(06:44):
that you feel like or that you've encountered, that you
think people are most concerned about.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Well, let's think these are great questions. I would say
that people are concerned about the economy, and that's a
very big issue. But I would say people are concerned
about the economy and in particular about their costs, and
you know, the desire to have lower costs, which is
something that Kama's very focused on, and in fact it
(07:12):
is her number one priority, which is to bring down
costs for people, especially for like sort of the everyday
things that you care about, like your groceries and your
housing and prescription drugs, which you know they've already brought
down the costs for example of vinceulind to thirty five dollars.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Hen want to do a lot more.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
She wants to do a lot more of that so
I would say costs, you know, and the economy are
an important thing. I think people are really concerned about healthcare,
and rightly so, because we've had progress over these last
several years through the Affordable Care Act of getting millions
more people onto healthcare. And there is a very distinct
(07:54):
difference between her and Donald Trump on this issue, which
is a comma is trying to figure out how we
exp spanned and build on the Affordable Care Act. And
one of the things that I think relates again to
an issue that people care a lot about is an
example specifically, is of how she wants to expand it
is she has just unfolded a policy which would for
(08:16):
the first time ever expand Medicare to cover home care
for seniors, which speaks to an issue a lot of
people have on their mind today, which is the Sandwich generation.
And you know, for your listeners who may not be
familiar with that, it's the idea of people who are
doing everything they can do every day to go to
(08:36):
work and build a life, but who are also taking
care of children at the same time that they're taking
care of either an ailing or elderly parent, and so
people are feeling squeezed and feeling the you know, inability
to manage it all and certainly the inability to afford
it all.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And so Kama is looking at.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
How do we Expandicare to lower costs for families that
are dealing with these issues around care taking. Let seniors
still be able to live at home and indignity, but
also importantly get better wages for care workers and improve
the quality of care. And we can do that by
expanding Medicare. And she has a whole plan to do that.
(09:17):
But on the flip side, Donald Trump wants to repeal
the Affordable Care Act. So not only is he not
looking at how to ease the burden that people are
feeling on something so important like your own health care
or providing for family members, He's not only not only
looking at that, he's looking at how do we rip
away what we already have with the Affordable Care Act?
(09:41):
And I just think that's something else that people are
really concerned about. And when Donald Trump was president, because
you might remember the Affordable Care Act came in through.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
President Obama, well, when Donald.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
Trump became president, three hundred thousand black Americans lost their
health insurance in his first two.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Years, and he now wants to go further and rip.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Away more of it.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
So I just say that to say I think that's
another issue that is on people's minds. But it also
is one of those issues that has a very distinct, sharp,
clear difference between where Kamala has had it, which is forward. Yeah,
where she's had it which is forward, and Donald Trump,
who's trying to take people backward. Okay, well, but you
(10:24):
did ask me for three, So I'm going to give
you one other one here, which is And one of
the reason I want to give you this one is
because Kamala is so excited about it, which is about
small businesses. But the other reason I wanted to mention
it is because it's related to the bigger point about
the economy and also opportunity, which is.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That Kamala really sees how as it relates.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
To the economy, Our small businesses are the engine right
in the economy in terms of growth in the economy
but also providing jobs in our economy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And small business.
Speaker 6 (10:59):
Owners still struggle right whether it's to try to get
a business off the ground as an entrepreneur and a
small business owner, but also in terms of if you
have a business how to grow it.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
And so she's really.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
Excited about this because it also speaks to people's you know,
ambitions and aspirations and their innovation. Right, let's support all
of that. And so one of the examples of what
she wants to do is to take the tax deduction
for startups from five thousand dollars, which is what it
is today, to fifty thousand dollars because she knows that
nobody can really start a small business with just five
(11:34):
thousand dollars, right, so, right, right, So let's give people
more help in order to be able to not only
get their ambitious ideas off the ground, but to be
able to invest in our economy through investing in entrepreneurs
and small business owners. Again, very distinct from Donald Trump,
(11:57):
who really is constantly folks on wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Sure not, you know, sort of.
Speaker 6 (12:06):
Every day you know, people working, working, working class folks,
middle class communities that are trying to get ahead.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
He's focused on, you know, wealthy individuals and wealthy corporations.
And so I think that that is something that people
are trying to figure out, right, which is maybe you
don't want to work for somebody else.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
Right, and maybe you want to start start your own business.
You already have your own business. She's focused on how
can she help you get ahead with that path as
opposed to, you know, more tax cuts.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
For people who don't really really frankly don't need it.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, exactly. So Okay, Well, I appreciate that I want
to get through as many of these questions as I can,
because again, this is kind of some rare era that
we're in right now. So I feel like you're also
in a position to kind of give us a very
unique answer for this next question. So what are some
of the more memorable whatever comes to mind, the more
(13:06):
memorable like lies or myths floating around on social media
about your sister that you have heard and would like
to dispel.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
There's so many.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I mean, I think one thing is that for people who.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Would say that she's not you know, ready or qualified
for the presidency, you know, it's such a distortion of
her record, which is a career of spending her entire
career in public service serving other people in the largest
state and most diverse state in the country, and you know,
having been elected district attorney, having then become the attorney
(13:50):
general for the entire state of California, having become, you know,
the Senator for the state of California and being vice
president for the past four years. I don't know, I
haven't seen a quote unquote resume that's more qualified for
the presidency of the United States than that, Sure, And
(14:13):
so you know, I suppose that that might be an
example of something that has been distorted about her. You know,
I guess what I would say partly about that is
that and part of the reason I have to think
so hard about it is that we're focused on the
(14:33):
truth telling in terms of what her vision is for
the country. Sure, we're focused on having people get to
know who she really is through the positive affirmative narrative
of who she is and who she's always been and
what she has fought for. And there's so much to
talk about there. And we also don't get distracted and
(14:56):
lose focused on what's at stake in this election by
focusing on the distractions that Donald Trump and his allies
are trying to create in order to divert you from
what is the promise of a Kamala Harris administration and
a Kamala Harris track record. And so, you know, the
(15:19):
stakes are so high in the election, and we're really
fighting for the country's future. We are focused on talking
about people's lives, what the solutions are that Kamala has
and plans are that she has for improving the people's lives, and.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
How you can count on that.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
Those are not campaign promises in the way that people
talk about, oh, election promises that aren't delivered. The Kama
has been delivering for the American people for her entire career.
And so I think that we're really focused on not
being sidetracked and distracted by the lies and distortions, because
(16:00):
that's why they're lying and distorting. They want you to
be off onto another path as opposed that that's untrue,
because they know if you focus on the truth, there
is really only one choice in this election, if you
care about your lives being lifted up and you care
about moving forward to a positive vision where everybody, every
American can see themselves versus you know, being taken backward
(16:24):
to a time when rights and freedoms were for some
of us but not all of us. And so you know,
there's only really one choice if you want to move forward,
and that's.
Speaker 7 (16:34):
Kinme a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah, No, I feel like there's a lot of people
having to come to terms with the fact that they've
been fed, you know, those lies in that misinformation. One
person comes to mind Dial Hugley, who recently had to
go on his show and apologize for not only like
believing a lot of what he heard about Kamala Harris
(16:57):
initially and her during her initial run for the Press
in twenty twenty, but also parroting and echoing some of
those talking points on his platform, and recently he had
to make his apology as loud as his transgression, and
for a lot of us that look to him as
(17:17):
the comedian and as kind of the activist that he's
become in recent years, you know, those of us that
never did our deep dives, myself included, and we've admitted
that on this show. We had to come to terms
with the fact that, Okay, Kamala Harris's overall public strategy,
her approach to you know, police, her approach to marijuana,
her approach to you know, and then of course there
(17:39):
were other things that we were bumping up against too,
of course, as you know, the false narratives that have
been spun by the right and the far right, as
you mentioned we had to come to terms with the
fact that some of this stuff, like we had been
tricked by some of this stuff. And the truth is
is that there's not an insignificant amount of people who
(18:00):
have read into and bought into some of that misinformation
and disinformation. So when we talked to your husband about
this too a bit, so talk to us a bit
about sort of the narrative that the narrative of black
voters specifically and the role they could play in this election.
(18:21):
And maybe if you had a message that you could
give specifically to black voters, what would that be.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
Well, one thing that we know is black voters have
been decisive in every presidential election.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Very good Black.
Speaker 6 (18:37):
Men and black women have been decisive in every presidential election.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And so we need to make sure that.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
All everyone in the black community is informed to the
degree that they may have like you said that you were,
and we know the DL was being misled by some
of the information disinformation and that has been out there.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Make sure that black folks are informed.
Speaker 6 (19:04):
And that everybody is registered in voting in numbers that
are so overwhelming that we leave no doubt where the
black community stands when it terms in terms of the
direction of the country. And I say that because, you know,
we really are talking about two fundamentally different views of
(19:26):
the country. One where Kamala has a whole agenda for
every American, but that does also very specifically address issues
and disparities and concerns that have been raised in the
black community. And on the other hand, you have someone
in Donald Trump who has antagonized the black community, who
(19:48):
has not had an agenda about lifting up the black community,
who wants to You got to look at his Project
twenty twenty five agenda so that you can know what
he has in store on issues that affect the black community,
like wanting to have blanket police immunity for any actions
(20:09):
like as I said earlier, ripping away healthcare, which is
ensuring millions of black people, you know. And I could
go on and on and look at his track record, right,
I mean, the person who was the Birther Live, you know,
promoting Birther lives about our first black president, Barack Obama.
(20:30):
The person who watched the COVID nineteen response which disproportionately
left Black Americans dead and black owned businesses shuttered. So
I say that to say, you got to look at
make sure people are informed, you know, not only about
who commonly is and the positive things that she's done
her entire life to lift up the black community, but
(20:53):
also having concrete plans to keep building on progress, okay
as in the United States. And then look at a
track record of someone who has antagonized the black community,
you know, falsely click accused the exonerated five of murder
and call for their execution, and who has during the
four years he had as president, done things that have
(21:15):
devastated the black community and has a plan in Project
twenty twenty five that surely will take us even further
back as a community. So I think that those are
all important. Being informed and then being registered and voting.
And so in Arizona, of course, for example, we only
have eight days obviously nationally to election day, but this Friday,
(21:39):
November first, is going to be the last day for
early vote, and we're telling everybody get out and do
your voting early because of course election day, Tuesday, November fifth,
is the last day to vote, but.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Don't wait till the last minute.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Get out there and do it early because you never.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Know what might happen on election day where your heartbreaks
down or your childcare falls through and don't get a
chance to go vote.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
So every vote is going to count in this election.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
And again thinking about Arizona in twenty twenty the Biden
Harris ticket in twenty twenty one in Arizona, but less
than eleven thousand votes, do you know framss that that
is less than one half of one percent, okay, of
the vote. And so if there are people out there
who are saying, well, my vote doesn't matter, oh yes,
(22:28):
your vote does matter. Every single vote is going to
matter in this election. It may come down to a
handful of votes per precinct. So if you sit this
one out, you could have very well been the vote
to take this over the finish line. So I think
those would be the messages that I would have to
(22:49):
Black voters to please be informed as we usually are
as voters. But in this election, we know there's so
much misinformation and disinformation out there, so we have to
make sure that we are truly informed and educated. And
one way to do that is look at Kamala's plans
versus Donald Trump's Project twenty twenty five agenda, and then
(23:09):
to just make sure we're registered and we're getting out
there voting and we're doing it early.
Speaker 8 (23:13):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to.
Speaker 7 (23:26):
Your voice is powerful, your voice matters. Don't let your
voice be silenced. To register, confirm your voting status, or
get information about voting in your area, visit vote dot gov.
That's vote dot goov. A message from the Perception Institute
and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
We are here today with Maya Harris, American lawyer, public
policy advocate, writer and sister. It's a Democratic nominee for president,
Kamala Harris. Okay, so, in the past, you've organized conferences
around police community relations and advocated for police reform. Kamala
(24:05):
is famously a former attorney general. As we've discussed, talk
to us about why this is important and what the
Harris campaign is planning to do to address some of
these critical issues that have caused some voters to pause
in terms of expressing their enthusiasm or indeed heading out.
Speaker 7 (24:27):
To the polls.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Well, I think that you can look at the work
that she has done in terms of being the first
state to in California when she was Attorney General, pushing
for body cameras for police officers in the state of California,
again the largest, most diverse state in the country, and
(24:51):
the bills that she's fought for for criminal justice reform
and police reform in the Senate when she was a
Senate her and the track record of work that she
has had when she was first elected as District Attorney
in San Francisco, where she really looked at and established
(25:13):
the first you know, back on Track program, which you
know your listeners may be aware of, but it really
was an effort to, you know, take people who've been
involved in the criminal justice system and.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Give them a second chance. You know, a very.
Speaker 6 (25:33):
Christian value, right, which is to have a second chance.
If you, you know, have had something that you have
done in your past, it shouldn't necessarily.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Define you for the rest of your life. And so,
you know, she's had a track record.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
I think of looking at how we, you know, continue
to strengthen justice right in the and with a specific
focus on the system. And I think that unfortunately, we
have had the inability to get some of the bills
passed in the Congress that she has you know, supported
and brought forward for criminal justice reform and specifically as
(26:15):
it relates to some of the police reform issues. And
so this is again why you know, it's so important
for everybody to get out and vote and vote not
only for Kamala and for president, but vote Democrat up
and down the ticket because you may have a congressional
race or a senator a Senate race.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
In your state.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
That if Kamala has a Democratic Senate and a Democratic
Congress House, you know, House of Representatives, then with her
as president, we will be able to finally act on
some of the bills that she brought forward even as
a senator that would improve our justice system or improve
(26:59):
our protection of voting rights, another issue she champion when
she was a senator and certainly before she even became
a senator voting rights.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
We haven't been able to get the.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Voting rights legislation passed.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
And so I think it's important to look at, you know,
the voting up and down the ticket and voting Democrat
up and down the ticket so that we can not
only send Kama to the White House's president, but actually
have a Congress that's willing to work with her get
some from Buness Country forward in these ways exactly.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things that we had
encountered in interacting with our listeners in terms of lending
our support to Kamala Harris was that, you know, again,
some of the early misinformation and disinformation, Okay, she was
a prosecutor, she locked up black men for marijuana crimes,
(27:50):
all that sort of stuff, which we to be fair,
we had probably three or four different episodes talking about
all of that stuff and how it was either exaggerated,
outright just untrue or whatever. You know. So we've addressed
all that stuff. The thing is that there are some
people who it just didn't really sit right with them.
(28:11):
The fact that she worked so closely with actual on
the ground police officers, she was top cop. You know.
These are the sorts of things that we heard quite
a bit from you know, our listeners and just people
when we do things live in person around the country.
And one of the things that we were able to
talk to your husband Tony about, and one of the
(28:31):
things that we have been suspecting and he was able
to confirm for us, was that her approach to the
criminal justice system was one of if I can get
into this system, and I can ascend the ranks, then
I'd be in a better position to create some changes
that will affect the community, black and brown communities in particular.
(28:55):
I'd be in a better position to do it from
the inside and from the top, then I would be
from the outside with a picket sign. And this is
what we had begun to suspect sometime after her being
nominated as vice president, And this is kind of where
(29:15):
we've been the whole time. And again, it's just these
unique opportunities where we get to have conversations with people
like you who grew up with her, who know this
firsthand and can provide some insight into the type of
person that she is. Because the truth is, there are
some people who are afraid of having a police officer
in the White House. They're not more afraid of that
than they are of Donald Trump. But the fact is
(29:37):
is that again it might give some folks pause. So
I appreciate you bringing some light and some clarity to that.
And I was able to tell your husband the same thing,
because this is something that at least on this show,
these are things that we discussed quite a bit. Now
before I let you go, I have another unique opportunity.
Speaker 6 (29:53):
To Can I please just say one thing on that Rams, please,
because I think you know, given I had a devoted
my career was devoted to being a civil rights lawyer
and as a kid, so I was on the outside
of the system advocating right for policies, and you know,
she was on the inside the system. You know, the
(30:14):
symbol for justice is, you know, a lady holding a scale, right.
And what I have come to very clearly understand is
that for the scales of justice to balance, you need
to have people with our values both outside the system
(30:36):
and inside the system, right. And that really does speak
to that point about people who have a sense of
what's right and wrong, who have grown up with a
strong sense of what's right and wrong, and who are
have a positive, forward looking vision of the future and
(30:59):
what is possible in America right in terms of opportunity
for everyone, justice for everyone, equality for everyone, and that
there are many roles to play in getting to that
vision of America, and some of those roles are inside
(31:20):
the system and some are outside the system. So I
just wanted to say that and that when it comes
to the justice system, you really do need people both
inside and outside. And the thing that I think is
incredible about Kamala's career is the way that she has
inspired other people to take on all the roles. Yes,
(31:40):
to have people take on the roles outside the system,
you know, the same way I did.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
But to inspire people who never would have thought of
going into government, of being an elected office, of being
a local district attorney. Has inspired other people to see
the way that that matters too. And I have meant
(32:05):
women all over this country, men all over this country
who say they looked at Kamala and the path that
she has trail blazed, truly trail blazed.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
And had been the.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
Inspiration to see a role for them that they did
not see before that was possible.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
So I just wanted to be able to share.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
That I'm so glad that you did, because that was
actually what It's easier for you to say that and
for it to land with our listeners than it is
for me. So this is I appreciate you taking an
extra moment to bring some clarity to that, because this
is kind of what we've been trying to explain to
people who are still kind of riding that line even
(32:48):
at this late hour in the election cycle. So one
last quick question before I let you go in to
a short on time. Trump was in the headlines recently
about his sort of closing argument rally at Madison Square
Garden and how it was sort of overshadowed by racist rhetoric.
What do you think would be the closing argument of
(33:09):
the Harris campaign? So just you know, your final thoughts
on what this moment in history means and what it
is that your sister intends to do with this country.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
Well, I believe that she will, you know, continue to
lift up the fact that it is time.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
For us to turn the page.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
Turn the page on all the division and the chaos,
and the degradation and the dehumanization of Trump. I mean,
his closing rally was in plain sight all of what
it is time for this country to just say no
(33:54):
to and move away, turn the page to a new
way forward and two in America that is for everyone
and in which everyone can see themselves and can prosper everyone.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And that is.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Who she is and who she's always been about everyone,
not just some.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And She's going to.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Be for everyone, whether you voted for her or not.
But the point is, if you want to move yourself
and your family and your community forward, there really is
only one choice and that is Kamala And so I
believe that you know she will close her election in
(34:42):
the way that she has really I think, lifted up
things throughout this campaign and lifted up people throughout this
campaign and being very clear who she's fighting for, and
she is fighting for you. She is not like Donald
Trump look out for himself. She is fighting for you,
(35:03):
and I think we will hear that again loud and
clear in her closing argument, and that is what we
can be confident looking at her track record, we can
be confident that that is who she will fight for
when we elect her president of the United States.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
I love it. I love it fantastic. Thank you so
much for all of that. One last thing, is there
any social media is that you want to leave any
websites anything like that where people can get more information
about the campaign, about you personally, anything you got going on.
Speaker 6 (35:33):
We would love to have all of your listeners go
and get their early vote in and then come help
us get this over the finish line by going to
go dot KamalaHarris dot com to volunteer, whether you have
a couple of hours, or you have a couple of days,
or whether you can do it for the.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Next eight days until election day. We would love to
have people.
Speaker 6 (35:58):
Come and volunteer with us. For any of your listeners
who still have questions about Kamala's plans, her policies, where
she's going to take this country and how she's going
to take it forward, they can go to Kamala Harris
dot com and she has everything there for people to see,
and that will be, i think, a roadmap for people
(36:19):
to see how we are going to get to this
new way forward and this brighter future that Kamala is
painting for all of us.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Fantastic. Well, once again, i'd like to thank you for
coming on and sharing your insights and your unique perspective
on hopefully our next president of the United States of America.
Once again. Today's guest is Maya Harris, American lawyer, public
policy advocate, writer, and sister to the Democratic nominee for President,
Kamala Harris.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Thank you, Ramses, it was a wonderful talking to you.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Thank you for allowing me to be with you today.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
I appreciate you. This has been a production of the
Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson.
I have some thoughts you'd like to share. Use the
red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there,
be sure to hit subscribe and download all of our episodes.
I am your host Ramse's Jaw on all social media
and join us tomorrow as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the Black
(37:12):
Information Network Daily Podcast
Maya Harris is an American lawyer, public policy advocate, and writer.
She was one of three senior policy advisors for Hillary
Clinton's twenty sixteen presidential campaigns policy agenda, and she also
served as chair of the twenty twenty presidential campaign of
her sister, Kamala Harris. Now supporting her sister's bid for
the presidency, Maya joins us to discuss the campaign, policy,
(00:23):
and the future of our democracy. This is the Black
Information Network Daily Podcast, and I'm your host, Ramses. Job
all right, Maya Harris, Welcome to the show. It's a
pleasure and an honor to have you on today. How
are you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I'm doing great, Ramses, and thank you for having me.
I'm delighted to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Absolutely. You know, it's funny because maybe three or four
days ago, we had a chance to sit down and
talk with your husband, and we had a fantastic conversation,
very inspiring conversation, and we had a tremendous reaction to
it online as well, and we had a chance to
kind of get into his background just a bit. I
(01:04):
know I gave a brief introduction, and I know that
we all are kind of familiar with your background, but
give us a little bit more, maybe the details we
might not know that are kind of specific to you
and not to you and your sister. Tell us a
little bit about just kind of your upbringing and kind
of what led you to today's conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Sure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
For that opportunity.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I well, I'm a lawyer by training, and I say
by training because I've done a lot more policy advocacy
than litigation.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
I did litigation earlier in my career, but I have
had a focus over the course of my life on
civil rights and social justice and have worked as an
advocate in a number of organizations like the American Civil
Liberties Union, which I head up the largest affiliate in.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
California for a period of time. But have worked on
those issues over a lifetime. And you know, I think
that that my career path has, you know, come from
the same upbringing that Comlin and I share, which is,
you know, growing up with parents who really instilled in
(02:20):
us an idea that we had a duty and a
responsibility to leave this world more fair and more adjust
for more people than we entered it, and really set
for us high expectations for us and what we could achieve.
But even greater expectations of us and and understanding of
(02:40):
an expectation of duty and responsibility to other people.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Okay, so obviously there's a lot of that stuff that
we know, especially those of us who've been very much
invested in this campaign. You know, there's there's a lot
of things that we know. We appreciate you kind of
telling us the parts of the story that makes you know,
your upbringing a little different from what we know, what
makes your path at a little bit more unique, I suppose.
(03:07):
But you know, not too many people can answer this question.
So while we have this opportunity, you know, for folks
who are really excited about the campaign and for folks
who you know, they might be questioning what kind of
person Kamala Harris really is behind you know, the politics
and the speeches and so forth, talk to us a
little bit about maybe what kind of sister Kamala Harris
(03:27):
is to you and what kind of sister you have
been to her?
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Well, I would say, I mean, she is an older sister,
so she has been very protective as an older sister.
You know, she's been an inspiration to me the way
she has been for so many other people. I mean,
she is someone who I have looked up to just
in terms of her leadership over a course of a lifetime,
and I mean demonstrated leadership even from when we were children,
(03:55):
and you know, her being fearless and courageous and tough
and just so resilient. I think all of those things
are things that I admire so much and respect about her.
And there're things that I have really seen in her
since we were children. And you know, her protectiveness to
(04:15):
you know that I've said that she has been toward me.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It's not just toward me as her younger sister, but
really to.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Everyone in her life. And you know, from her earliest.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Days, her best friend Stacy in kindergarten who's still a
very good friend of hers today. She and Stacy in
kindergarten literally were on the playground and some boy was
picking on Stacy and Kamala stepped into the situation, and
the boy turned on Kamala and he either picked up
a stick or a rock and he hit Kamala in
(04:47):
the face with it. And she still has a scar
on the side of her eye from that. But it's
sort of an example of what I mean when I
say that she has had that kind of stance or
instinct toward not only her younger sister, but toward you know,
everyone in that situation, stepping into defense stacy. She did
that again. I mean, she's done it so many times.
(05:09):
But there was another particular example of that that stands
out with her friend Wanda in high school, who had
been being molested by her stepfather and when Kamala found
out about that, Kamala said to Wanda, you need to
come stay with us. And you know, Kama came home
and asked my mom whether Wanda could come stay with
(05:29):
us and try to help navigate the situation, and of
course my mom said yes. But it, you know, again,
is just sort of an example of what I mean
about she has that protective instinct, but she also has,
you know, this sense of responsibility toward other people where
she will go into a situation where someone is vulnerable
(05:53):
or needs help or is you know, struggling to figure
something out and try to figure out how she can
be helpful and whether it's in lifting up the person
or getting them into a better situation. And that's just
something that you know, she has always been and so yes,
you protected toward her younger sister, but I've seen her
(06:14):
have that kind of sense of you know, compassion, protection,
empathy toward other people as well.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Right now, you're someone who is well known in the
political arena, So let's talk politics for a bit if
we may. In your estimation, let me figure out how
I want to ask this to you. How about this?
What are give me three major issues in the selection
(06:44):
that you feel like or that you've encountered, that you
think people are most concerned about.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Well, let's think these are great questions. I would say
that people are concerned about the economy, and that's a
very big issue. But I would say people are concerned
about the economy and in particular about their costs, and
you know, the desire to have lower costs, which is
something that Kama's very focused on, and in fact it
(07:12):
is her number one priority, which is to bring down
costs for people, especially for like sort of the everyday
things that you care about, like your groceries and your
housing and prescription drugs, which you know they've already brought
down the costs for example of vinceulind to thirty five dollars.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Hen want to do a lot more.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
She wants to do a lot more of that so
I would say costs, you know, and the economy are
an important thing. I think people are really concerned about healthcare,
and rightly so, because we've had progress over these last
several years through the Affordable Care Act of getting millions
more people onto healthcare. And there is a very distinct
(07:54):
difference between her and Donald Trump on this issue, which
is a comma is trying to figure out how we
exp spanned and build on the Affordable Care Act. And
one of the things that I think relates again to
an issue that people care a lot about is an
example specifically, is of how she wants to expand it
is she has just unfolded a policy which would for
(08:16):
the first time ever expand Medicare to cover home care
for seniors, which speaks to an issue a lot of
people have on their mind today, which is the Sandwich generation.
And you know, for your listeners who may not be
familiar with that, it's the idea of people who are
doing everything they can do every day to go to
(08:36):
work and build a life, but who are also taking
care of children at the same time that they're taking
care of either an ailing or elderly parent, and so
people are feeling squeezed and feeling the you know, inability
to manage it all and certainly the inability to afford
it all.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And so Kama is looking at.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
How do we Expandicare to lower costs for families that
are dealing with these issues around care taking. Let seniors
still be able to live at home and indignity, but
also importantly get better wages for care workers and improve
the quality of care. And we can do that by
expanding Medicare. And she has a whole plan to do that.
(09:17):
But on the flip side, Donald Trump wants to repeal
the Affordable Care Act. So not only is he not
looking at how to ease the burden that people are
feeling on something so important like your own health care
or providing for family members, He's not only not only
looking at that, he's looking at how do we rip
away what we already have with the Affordable Care Act?
(09:41):
And I just think that's something else that people are
really concerned about. And when Donald Trump was president, because
you might remember the Affordable Care Act came in through.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
President Obama, well, when Donald.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
Trump became president, three hundred thousand black Americans lost their
health insurance in his first two.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Years, and he now wants to go further and rip.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Away more of it.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
So I just say that to say I think that's
another issue that is on people's minds. But it also
is one of those issues that has a very distinct, sharp,
clear difference between where Kamala has had it, which is forward. Yeah,
where she's had it which is forward, and Donald Trump,
who's trying to take people backward. Okay, well, but you
(10:24):
did ask me for three, So I'm going to give
you one other one here, which is And one of
the reason I want to give you this one is
because Kamala is so excited about it, which is about
small businesses. But the other reason I wanted to mention
it is because it's related to the bigger point about
the economy and also opportunity, which is.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That Kamala really sees how as it relates.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
To the economy, Our small businesses are the engine right
in the economy in terms of growth in the economy
but also providing jobs in our economy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And small business.
Speaker 6 (10:59):
Owners still struggle right whether it's to try to get
a business off the ground as an entrepreneur and a
small business owner, but also in terms of if you
have a business how to grow it.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
And so she's really.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
Excited about this because it also speaks to people's you know,
ambitions and aspirations and their innovation. Right, let's support all
of that. And so one of the examples of what
she wants to do is to take the tax deduction
for startups from five thousand dollars, which is what it
is today, to fifty thousand dollars because she knows that
nobody can really start a small business with just five
(11:34):
thousand dollars, right, so, right, right, So let's give people
more help in order to be able to not only
get their ambitious ideas off the ground, but to be
able to invest in our economy through investing in entrepreneurs
and small business owners. Again, very distinct from Donald Trump,
(11:57):
who really is constantly folks on wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Sure not, you know, sort of.
Speaker 6 (12:06):
Every day you know, people working, working, working class folks,
middle class communities that are trying to get ahead.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
He's focused on, you know, wealthy individuals and wealthy corporations.
And so I think that that is something that people
are trying to figure out, right, which is maybe you
don't want to work for somebody else.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
Right, and maybe you want to start start your own business.
You already have your own business. She's focused on how
can she help you get ahead with that path as
opposed to, you know, more tax cuts.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
For people who don't really really frankly don't need it.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, exactly. So Okay, Well, I appreciate that I want
to get through as many of these questions as I can,
because again, this is kind of some rare era that
we're in right now. So I feel like you're also
in a position to kind of give us a very
unique answer for this next question. So what are some
of the more memorable whatever comes to mind, the more
(13:06):
memorable like lies or myths floating around on social media
about your sister that you have heard and would like
to dispel.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
There's so many.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I mean, I think one thing is that for people who.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Would say that she's not you know, ready or qualified
for the presidency, you know, it's such a distortion of
her record, which is a career of spending her entire
career in public service serving other people in the largest
state and most diverse state in the country, and you know,
having been elected district attorney, having then become the attorney
(13:50):
general for the entire state of California, having become, you know,
the Senator for the state of California and being vice
president for the past four years. I don't know, I
haven't seen a quote unquote resume that's more qualified for
the presidency of the United States than that, Sure, And
(14:13):
so you know, I suppose that that might be an
example of something that has been distorted about her. You know,
I guess what I would say partly about that is
that and part of the reason I have to think
so hard about it is that we're focused on the
(14:33):
truth telling in terms of what her vision is for
the country. Sure, we're focused on having people get to
know who she really is through the positive affirmative narrative
of who she is and who she's always been and
what she has fought for. And there's so much to
talk about there. And we also don't get distracted and
(14:56):
lose focused on what's at stake in this election by
focusing on the distractions that Donald Trump and his allies
are trying to create in order to divert you from
what is the promise of a Kamala Harris administration and
a Kamala Harris track record. And so, you know, the
(15:19):
stakes are so high in the election, and we're really
fighting for the country's future. We are focused on talking
about people's lives, what the solutions are that Kamala has
and plans are that she has for improving the people's lives, and.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
How you can count on that.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
Those are not campaign promises in the way that people
talk about, oh, election promises that aren't delivered. The Kama
has been delivering for the American people for her entire career.
And so I think that we're really focused on not
being sidetracked and distracted by the lies and distortions, because
(16:00):
that's why they're lying and distorting. They want you to
be off onto another path as opposed that that's untrue,
because they know if you focus on the truth, there
is really only one choice in this election, if you
care about your lives being lifted up and you care
about moving forward to a positive vision where everybody, every
American can see themselves versus you know, being taken backward
(16:24):
to a time when rights and freedoms were for some
of us but not all of us. And so you know,
there's only really one choice if you want to move forward,
and that's.
Speaker 7 (16:34):
Kinme a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah, No, I feel like there's a lot of people
having to come to terms with the fact that they've
been fed, you know, those lies in that misinformation. One
person comes to mind Dial Hugley, who recently had to
go on his show and apologize for not only like
believing a lot of what he heard about Kamala Harris
(16:57):
initially and her during her initial run for the Press
in twenty twenty, but also parroting and echoing some of
those talking points on his platform, and recently he had
to make his apology as loud as his transgression, and
for a lot of us that look to him as
(17:17):
the comedian and as kind of the activist that he's
become in recent years, you know, those of us that
never did our deep dives, myself included, and we've admitted
that on this show. We had to come to terms
with the fact that, Okay, Kamala Harris's overall public strategy,
her approach to you know, police, her approach to marijuana,
her approach to you know, and then of course there
(17:39):
were other things that we were bumping up against too,
of course, as you know, the false narratives that have
been spun by the right and the far right, as
you mentioned we had to come to terms with the
fact that some of this stuff, like we had been
tricked by some of this stuff. And the truth is
is that there's not an insignificant amount of people who
(18:00):
have read into and bought into some of that misinformation
and disinformation. So when we talked to your husband about
this too a bit, so talk to us a bit
about sort of the narrative that the narrative of black
voters specifically and the role they could play in this election.
(18:21):
And maybe if you had a message that you could
give specifically to black voters, what would that be.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
Well, one thing that we know is black voters have
been decisive in every presidential election.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Very good Black.
Speaker 6 (18:37):
Men and black women have been decisive in every presidential election.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And so we need to make sure that.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
All everyone in the black community is informed to the
degree that they may have like you said that you were,
and we know the DL was being misled by some
of the information disinformation and that has been out there.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Make sure that black folks are informed.
Speaker 6 (19:04):
And that everybody is registered in voting in numbers that
are so overwhelming that we leave no doubt where the
black community stands when it terms in terms of the
direction of the country. And I say that because, you know,
we really are talking about two fundamentally different views of
(19:26):
the country. One where Kamala has a whole agenda for
every American, but that does also very specifically address issues
and disparities and concerns that have been raised in the
black community. And on the other hand, you have someone
in Donald Trump who has antagonized the black community, who
(19:48):
has not had an agenda about lifting up the black community,
who wants to You got to look at his Project
twenty twenty five agenda so that you can know what
he has in store on issues that affect the black community,
like wanting to have blanket police immunity for any actions
(20:09):
like as I said earlier, ripping away healthcare, which is
ensuring millions of black people, you know. And I could
go on and on and look at his track record, right,
I mean, the person who was the Birther Live, you know,
promoting Birther lives about our first black president, Barack Obama.
(20:30):
The person who watched the COVID nineteen response which disproportionately
left Black Americans dead and black owned businesses shuttered. So
I say that to say, you got to look at
make sure people are informed, you know, not only about
who commonly is and the positive things that she's done
her entire life to lift up the black community, but
(20:53):
also having concrete plans to keep building on progress, okay
as in the United States. And then look at a
track record of someone who has antagonized the black community,
you know, falsely click accused the exonerated five of murder
and call for their execution, and who has during the
four years he had as president, done things that have
(21:15):
devastated the black community and has a plan in Project
twenty twenty five that surely will take us even further
back as a community. So I think that those are
all important. Being informed and then being registered and voting.
And so in Arizona, of course, for example, we only
have eight days obviously nationally to election day, but this Friday,
(21:39):
November first, is going to be the last day for
early vote, and we're telling everybody get out and do
your voting early because of course election day, Tuesday, November fifth,
is the last day to vote, but.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Don't wait till the last minute.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Get out there and do it early because you never.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Know what might happen on election day where your heartbreaks
down or your childcare falls through and don't get a
chance to go vote.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
So every vote is going to count in this election.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
And again thinking about Arizona in twenty twenty the Biden
Harris ticket in twenty twenty one in Arizona, but less
than eleven thousand votes, do you know framss that that
is less than one half of one percent, okay, of
the vote. And so if there are people out there
who are saying, well, my vote doesn't matter, oh yes,
(22:28):
your vote does matter. Every single vote is going to
matter in this election. It may come down to a
handful of votes per precinct. So if you sit this
one out, you could have very well been the vote
to take this over the finish line. So I think
those would be the messages that I would have to
(22:49):
Black voters to please be informed as we usually are
as voters. But in this election, we know there's so
much misinformation and disinformation out there, so we have to
make sure that we are truly informed and educated. And
one way to do that is look at Kamala's plans
versus Donald Trump's Project twenty twenty five agenda, and then
(23:09):
to just make sure we're registered and we're getting out
there voting and we're doing it early.
Speaker 8 (23:13):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to.
Speaker 7 (23:26):
Your voice is powerful, your voice matters. Don't let your
voice be silenced. To register, confirm your voting status, or
get information about voting in your area, visit vote dot gov.
That's vote dot goov. A message from the Perception Institute
and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
We are here today with Maya Harris, American lawyer, public
policy advocate, writer and sister. It's a Democratic nominee for president,
Kamala Harris. Okay, so, in the past, you've organized conferences
around police community relations and advocated for police reform. Kamala
(24:05):
is famously a former attorney general. As we've discussed, talk
to us about why this is important and what the
Harris campaign is planning to do to address some of
these critical issues that have caused some voters to pause
in terms of expressing their enthusiasm or indeed heading out.
Speaker 7 (24:27):
To the polls.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Well, I think that you can look at the work
that she has done in terms of being the first
state to in California when she was Attorney General, pushing
for body cameras for police officers in the state of California,
again the largest, most diverse state in the country, and
(24:51):
the bills that she's fought for for criminal justice reform
and police reform in the Senate when she was a
Senate her and the track record of work that she
has had when she was first elected as District Attorney
in San Francisco, where she really looked at and established
(25:13):
the first you know, back on Track program, which you
know your listeners may be aware of, but it really
was an effort to, you know, take people who've been
involved in the criminal justice system and.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Give them a second chance. You know, a very.
Speaker 6 (25:33):
Christian value, right, which is to have a second chance.
If you, you know, have had something that you have
done in your past, it shouldn't necessarily.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Define you for the rest of your life. And so,
you know, she's had a track record.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
I think of looking at how we, you know, continue
to strengthen justice right in the and with a specific
focus on the system. And I think that unfortunately, we
have had the inability to get some of the bills
passed in the Congress that she has you know, supported
and brought forward for criminal justice reform and specifically as
(26:15):
it relates to some of the police reform issues. And
so this is again why you know, it's so important
for everybody to get out and vote and vote not
only for Kamala and for president, but vote Democrat up
and down the ticket because you may have a congressional
race or a senator a Senate race.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
In your state.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
That if Kamala has a Democratic Senate and a Democratic
Congress House, you know, House of Representatives, then with her
as president, we will be able to finally act on
some of the bills that she brought forward even as
a senator that would improve our justice system or improve
(26:59):
our protection of voting rights, another issue she champion when
she was a senator and certainly before she even became
a senator voting rights.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
We haven't been able to get the.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Voting rights legislation passed.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
And so I think it's important to look at, you know,
the voting up and down the ticket and voting Democrat
up and down the ticket so that we can not
only send Kama to the White House's president, but actually
have a Congress that's willing to work with her get
some from Buness Country forward in these ways exactly.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things that we had
encountered in interacting with our listeners in terms of lending
our support to Kamala Harris was that, you know, again,
some of the early misinformation and disinformation, Okay, she was
a prosecutor, she locked up black men for marijuana crimes,
(27:50):
all that sort of stuff, which we to be fair,
we had probably three or four different episodes talking about
all of that stuff and how it was either exaggerated,
outright just untrue or whatever. You know. So we've addressed
all that stuff. The thing is that there are some
people who it just didn't really sit right with them.
(28:11):
The fact that she worked so closely with actual on
the ground police officers, she was top cop. You know.
These are the sorts of things that we heard quite
a bit from you know, our listeners and just people
when we do things live in person around the country.
And one of the things that we were able to
talk to your husband Tony about, and one of the
(28:31):
things that we have been suspecting and he was able
to confirm for us, was that her approach to the
criminal justice system was one of if I can get
into this system, and I can ascend the ranks, then
I'd be in a better position to create some changes
that will affect the community, black and brown communities in particular.
(28:55):
I'd be in a better position to do it from
the inside and from the top, then I would be
from the outside with a picket sign. And this is
what we had begun to suspect sometime after her being
nominated as vice president, And this is kind of where
(29:15):
we've been the whole time. And again, it's just these
unique opportunities where we get to have conversations with people
like you who grew up with her, who know this
firsthand and can provide some insight into the type of
person that she is. Because the truth is, there are
some people who are afraid of having a police officer
in the White House. They're not more afraid of that
than they are of Donald Trump. But the fact is
(29:37):
is that again it might give some folks pause. So
I appreciate you bringing some light and some clarity to that.
And I was able to tell your husband the same thing,
because this is something that at least on this show,
these are things that we discussed quite a bit. Now
before I let you go, I have another unique opportunity.
Speaker 6 (29:53):
To Can I please just say one thing on that Rams, please,
because I think you know, given I had a devoted
my career was devoted to being a civil rights lawyer
and as a kid, so I was on the outside
of the system advocating right for policies, and you know,
she was on the inside the system. You know, the
(30:14):
symbol for justice is, you know, a lady holding a scale, right.
And what I have come to very clearly understand is
that for the scales of justice to balance, you need
to have people with our values both outside the system
(30:36):
and inside the system, right. And that really does speak
to that point about people who have a sense of
what's right and wrong, who have grown up with a
strong sense of what's right and wrong, and who are
have a positive, forward looking vision of the future and
(30:59):
what is possible in America right in terms of opportunity
for everyone, justice for everyone, equality for everyone, and that
there are many roles to play in getting to that
vision of America, and some of those roles are inside
(31:20):
the system and some are outside the system. So I
just wanted to say that and that when it comes
to the justice system, you really do need people both
inside and outside. And the thing that I think is
incredible about Kamala's career is the way that she has
inspired other people to take on all the roles. Yes,
(31:40):
to have people take on the roles outside the system,
you know, the same way I did.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
But to inspire people who never would have thought of
going into government, of being an elected office, of being
a local district attorney. Has inspired other people to see
the way that that matters too. And I have meant
(32:05):
women all over this country, men all over this country
who say they looked at Kamala and the path that
she has trail blazed, truly trail blazed.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
And had been the.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
Inspiration to see a role for them that they did
not see before that was possible.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
So I just wanted to be able to share.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
That I'm so glad that you did, because that was
actually what It's easier for you to say that and
for it to land with our listeners than it is
for me. So this is I appreciate you taking an
extra moment to bring some clarity to that, because this
is kind of what we've been trying to explain to
people who are still kind of riding that line even
(32:48):
at this late hour in the election cycle. So one
last quick question before I let you go in to
a short on time. Trump was in the headlines recently
about his sort of closing argument rally at Madison Square
Garden and how it was sort of overshadowed by racist rhetoric.
What do you think would be the closing argument of
(33:09):
the Harris campaign? So just you know, your final thoughts
on what this moment in history means and what it
is that your sister intends to do with this country.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
Well, I believe that she will, you know, continue to
lift up the fact that it is time.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
For us to turn the page.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
Turn the page on all the division and the chaos,
and the degradation and the dehumanization of Trump. I mean,
his closing rally was in plain sight all of what
it is time for this country to just say no
(33:54):
to and move away, turn the page to a new
way forward and two in America that is for everyone
and in which everyone can see themselves and can prosper everyone.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And that is.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Who she is and who she's always been about everyone,
not just some.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And She's going to.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Be for everyone, whether you voted for her or not.
But the point is, if you want to move yourself
and your family and your community forward, there really is
only one choice and that is Kamala And so I
believe that you know she will close her election in
(34:42):
the way that she has really I think, lifted up
things throughout this campaign and lifted up people throughout this
campaign and being very clear who she's fighting for, and
she is fighting for you. She is not like Donald
Trump look out for himself. She is fighting for you,
(35:03):
and I think we will hear that again loud and
clear in her closing argument, and that is what we
can be confident looking at her track record, we can
be confident that that is who she will fight for
when we elect her president of the United States.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
I love it. I love it fantastic. Thank you so
much for all of that. One last thing, is there
any social media is that you want to leave any
websites anything like that where people can get more information
about the campaign, about you personally, anything you got going on.
Speaker 6 (35:33):
We would love to have all of your listeners go
and get their early vote in and then come help
us get this over the finish line by going to
go dot KamalaHarris dot com to volunteer, whether you have
a couple of hours, or you have a couple of days,
or whether you can do it for the.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Next eight days until election day. We would love to
have people.
Speaker 6 (35:58):
Come and volunteer with us. For any of your listeners
who still have questions about Kamala's plans, her policies, where
she's going to take this country and how she's going
to take it forward, they can go to Kamala Harris
dot com and she has everything there for people to see,
and that will be, i think, a roadmap for people
(36:19):
to see how we are going to get to this
new way forward and this brighter future that Kamala is
painting for all of us.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Fantastic. Well, once again, i'd like to thank you for
coming on and sharing your insights and your unique perspective
on hopefully our next president of the United States of America.
Once again. Today's guest is Maya Harris, American lawyer, public
policy advocate, writer, and sister to the Democratic nominee for President,
Kamala Harris.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Thank you, Ramses, it was a wonderful talking to you.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Thank you for allowing me to be with you today.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
I appreciate you. This has been a production of the
Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson.
I have some thoughts you'd like to share. Use the
red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there,
be sure to hit subscribe and download all of our episodes.
I am your host Ramse's Jaw on all social media
and join us tomorrow as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the Black
(37:12):
Information Network Daily Podcast
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