The\nTruths We Hold \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Book Review by Kam Williams\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An American Journey <\/p>\n\n\n\n
by\nKamala Harris \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Penguin\nPress<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hardcover,\n$30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
336\npages<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ISBN:\n978-0-525-56071-5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\t\u201cWe’ve\nseen… [the Trump] administration align itself with white\nsupremacists\t\tat home and cozy up to dictators abroad; rip babies\nfrom their mothers’ arms in \tgrotesque violation of their human\nrights; give corporations and the wealthy huge tax \tcuts; derail our\nfight against climate change; sabotage health care and imperil a\n\twoman’s right to control her own body; all while lashing out at…\nthe very idea of a free \tand independent press…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\tAmericans\nknow we’re better than this… But we’re going to have to fight for\nit… \tThis book grows out of that call to action, and out of my\nbelief that our fight must begin \tand end with speaking [the]\ntruth… that racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and\n\tanti-Semitism are real in this country, and we need to confront\nthose forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excerpted from the Preface (pages xiv-xv)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tKamala\nHarris has officially thrown her hat in the ring for the 2020\nDemocratic presidential nomination, launching her campaign with a\nspirited rally in her hometown of Oakland attended by over 20,000\nenthusiastic supporters. The first term senator from California’s bid\nis reminiscent of Barack Obama’s in that she’s racially mixed and has\nconveniently published a very timely autobiography which also lays\nout her political platform. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIn\nit, we learn that Kamala’s father, Donald, was from Jamaica and\ntaught economics at Stanford, and her mother, Shyamala, a cancer\nresearcher, was born in India. The book is very engaging and reads\nlike she actually wrote it herself, unlike most celebrity bios\nnowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tShe\nreflects fondly on a culturally rich childhood growing up in the Bay\nArea until the age of 12 when her mother took a job in\nFrench-speaking Montreal. In high school, Kamala developed an\ninterest in becoming an attorney, and decided to attend Howard\nUniversity (where she would join the debate team and pledge AKA\nsorority) because it was the alma mater of her hero, Thurgood\nMarshall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAfter\ngraduation, she returned to Oakland to study law at UC Hastings\nbefore kickstarting her legal career. She enjoyed a meteoric rise\nfrom assistant prosecutor to San Francisco District Attorney To\nCalifornia Attorney General to U.S. Senator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBecause\nshe spent so much time representing the state in criminal cases,\nKamala positions herself here as a political progressive, ostensibly\nto convince skeptics of the criticisms she now levels at the justice\nsystem as racist. Overall, I’d say this opus serves as a persuasive\nintroduction to a charismatic candidate likely to be in the\npresidential race for the long haul. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n