Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold : An American Journey, Penguin Press, 2019, 336 p.

Senator Kamala Harris’s commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice ; her parents–an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India–met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California’s working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California’s thorniest issues, always eschewing stale “tough on crime” rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither “tough” nor “soft” but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as the top law enforcement official in California, and it is guiding her now as a transformational United States Senator, grappling with an array of complex issues that affect her state, our country, and the world, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality.

By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.

Lecture d’un extrait du livre par Kamala Harris elle-même

Kamala Harris, Nos Vérités. Mon Rêve américain, Robert Laffont, 2020, 352 p.

La vice-présidente Kamala Harris, l’une des femmes politiques les plus inspirantes, raconte son parcours, ses combats et ses vérités. Elle fut la première femme noire et la première femme d’origine indienne à concourir pour le poste de vice-présidente. Et à peine élue aux côtés de Joe Biden en novembre dernier, Kamala Harris est déjà pressentie pour prendre la tête des Etats-Unis en 2024. Face au machisme et à l’entre-soi des campagnes présidentielles menées par des hommes blancs de la génération du baby-boom, Kamala Harris (« fleur de lotus » en indien) incarne une nouvelle génération de femmes politiques. Son charisme, son naturel, sa franchise et sa volonté implacable sont les qualités qui l’ont faite élire. Fille d’un économiste jamaïcain et d’une chercheuse en oncologie indienne activistes au sein du mouvement pour les droits civiques durant leurs études à Berkeley, Kamala Harris a de qui tenir sa forte inclination pour la justice sociale. Elle a toujours voulu changer la société, défendre la vérité et l’égalité. A 13 ans, elle manifestait déjà contre l’interdiction de jouer sur la pelouse de son immeuble… Cette passion pour la justice, elle la développe durant ses études en science politique et en droit. Entre 2011 et 2017, elle est une procureure générale de Californie intraitable, qui apprend à se faire respecter. En 2017, elle prête serment en tant que sénatrice des Etats-Unis, et apparaît comme l’une des opposantes démocrates les plus déterminées contre Trump et son administration. Dans ce livre, Nos Vérités, à paraître dans plus de 25 pays, Kamala Harris raconte sa famille, son éducation, son parcours, ses engagements, son mariage, et son besoin de vérités. Elle parle ouvertement de tous ces thèmes qui divisent son pays : le racisme, l’antisémitisme, le sexisme et l’homophobie toujours présents ; les inégalités économiques qui ôtent dignité et décence à des millions de travailleurs ; elle s’insurge contre le coût de la santé, contre les brutalités policières et judiciaires… Et clame son désir, puissant, de refaire de son pays une grande nation, unie, une famille.

Claire Meynal, « L’Enigme Kamala Harris », Le Point, 20 mai 2021.

Understanding Kamala Harris, the Great Multiracial (Black) Hope (Bitch Media, 2 novembre 2020)

Historian Martha S. Jones on the Power of Black Women That Led to Kamala Harris’ Nod for VP (People Magazine, 26 octobre 2020)

Harris’ dual identities challenge America’s race labels (Associated Press, 21 août 2020)

Black Like Kamala (The New York Times, 14 août 2020)

Biden’s VP pick : Why Kamala Harris embraces her biracial roots (BBC News, 11 août 2020)

Joe Biden picks Sen. Kamala Harris to be his vice presidential running mate, making her the first black woman on a major ticket (CNBC, 11 août 2020)

Joe Biden Just Made History and Picked Kamala Harris as His VP Candidate (Mother Jones, 11 août 2020)

Why Kamala Harris’ Afro-Asian Identity Matters | Opinion (Newsweek, 9 juillet 2020)

Kamala Harris (Los Angeles Times (Asian Enough), 23 juin 2020). Podcast téléchagearble ICI.

Kamala Harris gets personal (The Washington Post, 23 septembre 2019)

When people challenge her blackness, I always say, ‘If she went to Howard, it means she’s one of us.’ (The Washington Post, 16 septembre 2019)

Kamala Harris grew up in a mostly white world. Then she went to a black university in a black city (The Washington Post, 16 septembre 2019)

Kamala Harris, Birtherism, Race and the Unscrupulous, Sinister Antics of the Far Right ! (Medium, 4 juillet 2019)

Social media trolls try but fail to give Kamala Harris the Obama-birther treatment (Think Progress, 1er juillet 2019)

Kamala Harris Has No Problem Being Black, But Why Doesn’t She Say Publicly She’s Part Asian ? (Diverse : Issues In Higher Education, 30 juin juin 2019)

A political awakening : How Howard University shaped Kamala Harris’ identity (The Los Angeles Times, 19 mars 2019).

Yes, Kamala Harris is ‘black enough’ (The Boston Globe, 19 février 2019)

Kamala Harris’s record and character matter — not the race of her father and husband (The Washington Post, 22 février 2019)

In Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, Indian Americans want more opportunities to connect (NBC News, 12 février 2019)

“But I’m black and I’m proud of being black. And I was born black and I will die black. And I’m proud of it. And I’m not going to make any excuses ; [be]cause they don’t understand.” (FM, WWPR-FM, New York, 11 février 2019)

Kamala Harris’s Blackness Isn’t Up for Debate (The Atlantic, 16 février 2019)

Harris takes on questions about her ‘blackness’ (CNN, 11 février 2019)

‘I am who I am’ : Kamala Harris, daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, defines herself simply as ‘American’ (The Washington Post, 2 février 2019)

Will it be a black woman who turfs Trump out of the White House ? (The Guardian, 6 janvier 2019)

Inside Kamala Harris’s relationship with an Indian-American community eager to claim her (McClatchy : DC Bureau, 18 décembre 2018)

Kamala Harris Is Dreaming Big (Vogue, 25 mars 2018)

Samosa Caucus : Indian Americans in US Congress are emerging as a power bloc (Hindustan Times, 14 mai 2017)

Kamala Harris sworn in as first Indian American senator and California’s first black senator (The Los Angeles Times, 3 janvier 2017)

Kamala Harris, California’s Attorney General, Leaps to Forefront of Senate Race (The New York Times, 27 mars 2015)

California Attorney General Announces Run for Senate (The New York Times, 13 janvier 2015)

Pascal D. Mbongo