The younger sister of the Vice President, Maya Harris joins us to discuss her sister's bid for the presidency, address some of the misinformation surrounding her bid for the White House, and what it was like growing up with the most powerful woman in the world!
Maya Harris is an American lawyer, public policy advocate, and writer. She was one of three senior policy advisers 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 and the future of our democracy. This is Civic Cipher and I am your host, ramses Jah. All right, Maya Harris, Welcome to the show. It's a pleasure and an honor to have you on today. How are you doing.
I'm doing great, ramses and thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be here.
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 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.
Sure, thank you for that opportunity.
I well, I'm a lawyer by training, and I say by training because I've done a lot more policy advocacy than litigation. 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 California for a period of time.
But have worked on those issues over a life time.
And you know, I think that that my career path has, you know, come from the same upbringing that Comlin I share, which is, you know, growing up with parents who really instilled in 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 an expectation of.
Duty and responsibility to other people.
Okay, so obviously there's a lot of that stuff that we know, especially those of us who's 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 a little bit more unique, I suppose. 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 is to you and what kind of sister you have been to her?
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, 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 they're things that I have really seen in her since we were children. And you know, her protectiveness to you know that I've said that she has been toward me.
It's not just toward me as her younger sister, but really to.
Everyone in her life. And you know, from her earliest 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 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 to or you know, everyone in that situation, stepping into defense stacy. She did that again. I mean, she's done it so many times. 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 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 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 have that kind of sense of you know, compassion, protection, empathy toward other people as well.
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 that you feel like or that you've encountered, that you think people are most concerned about.
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 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, vincelind to thirty five dollars. Hen want to do a lot more.
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 difference between her and Donald Trump on this issue, which is a comas trying to figure out how we expand 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 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 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. And so Comma's looking at how do we expand Medicare to lower costs for families are dealing with these issues around caretaking, 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. 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? 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 President Obama, well when Donald Trump became president, three hundred thousand black Americans lost their health insurance in his first two years. And he now wants to go further and rip away more of it. 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 did ask me for three, So I'm going to give you one other one, 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 that Kamala really sees how as it relates 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. And small business owners though 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 and so she's really 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 is five 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, who really is constantly focused on wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals. Sure not, you know, sort of every day you know, people working, working, working class folks, middle class communities that are trying to get ahead. 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, 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 for people who don't really really frankly don't need it.
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 ara 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 memorable like lies or myths floating around on social media about your sister that you have heard and would like to dispel.
There's so many.
I mean, I think one thing is that for people.
Who 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 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 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 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 lose focused on what's at stake in this election by focusing on the 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 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 how you can count on that those are not campaigned 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 that's why they're lying and distorting. They want you to be off onto another path as opposed 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 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 kinme a lot.
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 Hughgley, who recently had to go on his show and apologize for not only like believing a lot of what he heard about Kamala Harris initially and her during her initial run for the presidency 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 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 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 have read into and 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 selection. And maybe if you had a message that you could give specifically to black voters, what would that be.
Well, one thing that we know is black voters have been decisive in every presidential election.
Very good Black.
Men and black women have been decisive in every presidential election. And so we need to make sure that 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 that has been out there. Make sure that black folks aren't informed 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 too fundamentally different views of 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 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 the black community, like wanting to have blanket police immunity for any actions 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. 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 also having concrete plans to keep building on progress. Okay, as president 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 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, 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 don't wait till the last minute. Get out there and do it early because you never know what might happen on election day where your heartbreaks down or your childcare falls through and you don't get a chance to go vote. So every vote is going to count in this election. 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, 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 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. One way to do that is to look at Kamala's plans versus Donald Trump's Project twenty twenty five agenda, and then to just make sure we're registered and we're getting out there voting and we're doing it early.
Okay, So in the past, you've organized conferences around police community relations and advocated for police reform. Kamala 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 to the polls.
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 you know, diverse state in the country, and the bills that she's fought for for criminal justice reform and police reform in the Senate when she was a senator, 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 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 give them a second chance. You know, a very Christian value, right, which is.
To have a second chance.
If you, you know, have had something that you have done in in your past, it shouldn't necessarily define you for the rest of your life. And so you know, she's had a track record. I think of looking at how we you know, continue to strengthen justice right in the and with a specific focus on the justice 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 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.
In your state 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 our protection of voting rights. Another issue she champion when she was a senator and certainly before she even became a senator, voting rights.
We haven't been able to get the.
Voting rights legislation passed, 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. Some throm binness country forward in these ways exactly.
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 early misinformation and disinformation. Okay, she was a prosecutor, She locked up black men for marijuana crimes, 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, 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 things that we had 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. 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 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 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 to.
Say, but can I but can I plea? Can I 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 advocate. So I was on the outside of the system advocating right for policies, and you know she was on the inside of system. You know, the 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 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 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 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, to have people take on the roles outside the system the same way I did, 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 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, and had then the inspiration to see a role for them that they did not see before that was possible. So I just wanted to be able to share 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 at this late hour in the election cycle. So one last quick question before I let you go in know we're 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 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.
Well, I believe that she will, you know, continue to lift up the fact that it is time for.
Us to turn the page, 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 to and move away, turn the page to a new way forward and to in America that is for everyone and in which everyone can see themselves and can prosper everyone. And that is who she is and who she's always been about everyone, not just some. And she's going to 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 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 looking out for himself. She is fighting for you. 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.
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.
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. Going to go dot Kamala Harris dot com to volunteer, whether you have a couple hours, or you have a couple of days, or whether you can do it for the.
Next eight days until election day. We would love to have people come and volunteer with us.
And 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 to see how we are going to get to this new way forward and this briber future that Kamala is painting for all of us.
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.
Thank you, Ramses, it was a wonderful talking to you. Thank you for allowing me to be with you today.
I appreciate you