Kamala Harris’ AKA Sorority Sisters Celebrate Her 2020 VP Pick! We Vote BET

to our bet News special Black America votes the VP Choice I'm Michelle Miller my next guest was in fact on Biden's VP short list and has known kamla Harris for many years dating back to her time as the first woman and the first African-American district attorney in San Francisco joining me now is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus California congresswoman Karen bass thank you for joining us thanks for having me on you tweeted that kamla Harris is a great choice for VP why is she such a strong compliment to Joe Biden uh well I think yesterday was a beautiful example seeing the roll out seeing the two of them together I think she is a great choice because she is tried tested and true I've known her for many years back to when she was the da in San Francisco and we worked together when I was the state legislature so I think she's gonna provide the type of excitement and unity that we need to get past the next 80 plus days as you well know though critics have hit her hard on her past record as prosecutor what can she do to set the record straight clear the air I I mean I don't think that she needs to do anything except for to talk about the future I think that's the most important thing and when you have been in office for a long time and served in different roles as she has you know overtime things develop but when I worked with her she was all about reforming the criminal justice system we want you to take a look at this clip from our upcoming bet documentary there has been a lot that has been distorted about my record so let me be very clear I committed my career to reforming the criminal justice system and to correcting those things that I was born knowing were wrong were flawed and harmed the community I'm proud of the work that I did was I able to reform the entire system no I was not regrettably but I continue to work on it there is so much more work to be done we've got to be every aware and we can never run away from going for the position of power that gives us the ability to be the one to make decisions that are about correcting the flaws right does she answer her critics well I think she does and I think again the most important thing that she said was that she has dedicated her life to reforming the system and that she wasn't able to do it surprise I mean she served in the position for a few years all of us who have worked on reforms have been able to get some things done I know I would dramatically like to change the system but I do have to accept the fact that I can work on in incremental reforms and that's exactly what she's done that's why I think her Focus needs to be the future and what is she's going to do as vice president in a Biden Harris Administration and I believe with the two of them at the top and Democrats controlling the Senate and the house we will be able to get transformative legislation accomplished on the note of Reform I know you've been in the trenches with the senator on police reform policy do you think our policy positions have shifted far enough for younger more Progressive voters well I I do think that they have but again the bill that we're working on the George Floyd Justice and policing act it's not a revolutionary piece of legislation it's a legislation that brings about some transformative reforms and there might be people that want to see the entire system changed I'm one of them but it's not going to happen through that one bill so I think we're going to continue to work together until we ultimately can change all the parts of the system that need changing if they win uh of of all the issues that the Congressional Black Caucus has taken the lead on what should be the new administration's priority day one you know I don't think the administration is going to have a choice it's the health of the American people we're dying by the thousands every day because of the complete corrupt mismanagement unconscionable mismanagement from this administration of the covid virus because that is completely connected to the economy and everything else so I don't think this I don't think that the Biden Harris Administration is going to have a choice at all Donald Trump said that Harris would be his number one VP pick to run against do you believe that oh who knows I think the fact that he can't figure out how to attack her means that he is definitely struggling and so he's going to resort to where he always goes which is the bottom of the barrel and that's going to be racism and sexism that is going to be he's already started by talking about she's an angry woman the only thing that's missing is an angry black woman because you know that that's what is implied when you think of of his uh challenges to her uh straight out of the gate are you on baited breath what her responses will be or are you relying on her uh allies in the field in the Grassroots areas to come out swinging well you know what I think we are all going to swing on her behalf so she's going to have millions of people her back ready to punch ready to fight ready to defend her because we know the kind of racist sexist Onslaught that she is going to face so I know she won't have any problems throwing a punch but there's gonna be a whole lot of people standing behind her including you I'm sure a congresswoman Karen bass thank you so much for joining us coming up next in the midst of the movement for black lives can cona Harris galvanized Grassroots support we have to keep holding her feet to the fire addressing the issues that impact black communities every single day and that impact women every single day and frankly that impact black women every single [Music] day prosecutors are rewarded for having high conviction rates instead of having a smarter measurement of the their effectiveness and the smarter measurement should be Public Safety and if cuz you're the chief- elected law enforcement officer so we should be grading them not on conviction rates but on public safety and that's going to require them to look at re-entry initiatives which actually reduce crime because you're giving people the resources that they need to actually get back on their feet among the political establishment kamla Harris was seen as a safe VP pick but outside the Beltway how to Black voters really feel about Senator Harris and the Biden Harris ticket and is there a generation divide my next guest may know the answer to these questions better than anyone Latasha Brown is the co-founder of black voters matter fund and is a political strategist who has worked for years to register and mobilize black voters throughout the country also with us is Alisia Garza she is a co-founder of black lives matter and the principal at the black to the Future action fund thank you both for joining us Latasha you like the Biden Harris ticket because you say it will set a new course for a Biden Administration what does that look like you know I think a couple of things I think the first thing is we have to acknowledge how historic this moment is at any time you're breaking the barriers of white male patriarchy there's a gift it creates space and room for others and new thinking secondly that part of how this came about was just not because she was a safe candidate there there are those that say that she's a safe candidate now since she's been selected but quite frankly black women fought for this that there were women all throughout the last couple of months there were women throughout years that have been fighting for this moment to make sure that we had a black woman on the ticket because representation matters you're going to see black women engaged in the process in the shaping of agenda and policy and pushing for um pushing for that ticket and and God willing if they're elected to make sure that there's some accountability to our community as well and then the third thing that I want to share is that there are little black and brown girls right now that can actually see someone that looks like them that opens up space and possibilities for them there are hundreds of folks we always hear the stories of black actors and actresses saying that when they saw Ruby D or Harry bellonte how that opened up the possibility for them there are black folks who we know that said that when they saw third Good Marshall they wanted to be a lawyer yes it matters that there's a black woman that is a VP because I think not only does it engage and will energize the black black voters but it also sets a tone around how we serve in the high offices in this land Alicia I have to say that Senator Harris is not everyone's cup of tea uh how is she to overcome that well I think a few things here number one we should just be mindful right that this is the most important election in a generation and that black voters and Women Voters are going to be critical to the outcome of this election cycle with that being said you're 100% right not all black voters are in with Senator Harris and a lot of that has to do with uh being in the era of black lives matter and also being in an era of rebellion quite frankly black communities and black voters have been failed in many ways by this party and so we have to hold both uh in in ttention with each other being clear about where we need to go while also being clear about the agenda that we want to set and frankly what is also true is that nobody owes any politician any of their allegiance every politician should earn every vote that they covet and I think that Senator Harris is up for the task quite frankly she has been hammered and pressured around her prosecutorial record she's been pressured around her record as Attorney General of California the state that I live in and at the same time in her Senate record she has voted incredibly Progressive what that shows us is that people can change and people can meet the moment it also means that we have to keep holding her and Vice President Biden holding their feet to the fire making sure that they are proactively and adequately addressing the issues that impact black communities every single day and that impact women every single day and frankly that impact black women every single day both can be true at the same time what's the balance here because there are those folks who say she's not aggressive enough versus those who say she's far too conservative well I say the balance here is really a question of organizing how Progressive a candidate is really depends on how organized their Community is to make them more Progressive and so we certainly have our work cut out for us we are in an incredibly pivotal moment not just around the election but around the issues facing this country from a global pandemic with no solution in sight to an deepening economic recession to a a democracy in crisis there certainly is a lot of room for both candidates to move to make sure that they are addressing the issues that are most important to their constituents quite frankly there is a movement that has been reshaping this country for nearly the last decade and we have made a lot of progress the time to keep working is now we cannot stop and say that what happens in November is the end of the road actually what happens in November is the beginning of the road and we need to make sure that we are not only holding these candidates accountable but we are also setting the agenda that they should be following and that we be we see them as a vehicle to be able to achieve that agenda it's not all about Biden and Harris it's about our communities and it's about building power in our communities getting organized so that we can exercise that power to get these representatives to where we want them to be Latasha do you get people to the polls you know I think what we have to do is we have to tell the truth that we have to get organized that we have to tell what is at state to help people understand what a state I think that oftentimes the way that we want to get people to the poe is that we want to actually beat them over the head and make them believe in a system greater than themselves so we've got to organize thanks so much Latasha Brown and Alicia Garza we appreciate you thank you thank you coming up next a view of Senator Harris from those who knew her best at Howard University she's the real deal and hard worker just a phenomenal phenomenal friend and woman and just so much fun to be with when more of our bet News special Black America votes the VP Choice continues in a moment Welcome Back to Black America votes the VP Choice a bet News special I'm a proud Alum of Howard University the historically black college in Washington DC and so is K Harris Senator Harris graduated from Howard in 1986 the end of my freshman year and it said that she attended Howard because she wanted to be surrounded by Black Culture Young kamla Harris enrolled at Howard University in 1982 was here at an HBCU that her political Persona began to develop on a campus famous for student protest Harris's passion for justice led her to join the fight against inequality she often reflects on her time at the mecca as students call it as a pivotal chapter in her life Howard teaches its students that you can be everything um you can be the star of the football team and you can be the valid Victorian in her Memoir the truths we hold an American journey she writes that was the beauty of Howard every signal told students that we could be any that we were young gifted and black and we shouldn't let anything get in the way of our success as a freshman Harris ran her first campaign and became a class representative by her senior year the econ and polyi double major had participated in Debate Club chaired the economic society and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Incorporated and that is truly part of the essence of our sorority with which is to stand together as sisters with our heads up challenging others to do like we do knowing that we must serve others Harris even interned in the California Senator's office three decades later that office would be hers making kamla Harris the second black woman in history to serve as a US senator once in the Senate she continued to advocate for HBCU and in 2017 the same year she was elected gave Howard's commencement address it's good to be home decades ago I sat just where you sit now feeling the Embrace of our Howard family joining me now are two women who were classmates of the senator at Howard Jill Lewis and Mo'Nique not using your M name Le Beach pyris hate to do that to you girl friend how are you doing that's okay you you two had to be over the moon when the announcement was made what was going through your mind you know it was um it was a moment because I'm in Central Time and so it was 330 and my phone erupted I was sitting actually right here in my home office and all the a sudden just the inputs and my husband was working upstairs in his home office and he screamed out my name and then I opened up the phone to see what was happening and it was just an overwhelming experience of this moment is here it had to be the same for you Mo'Nique and because we were all at Howard together I know that you both really got close while pledging Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Incorporated you were on the same line known as the 38 jewels of iridescent Splendor I I want to know what was she like in college you know she was authentic she was sincere and you know what you see is what you get she's the real deal and hard worker just a phenomenal phenomenal friend and woman and just so much fun to be with clearly she she knew who she was as a black woman but did she talk about her West Indian roots and and being of South Asian descent Monique I mean that's something she shares you oh absolutely absolutely I mean k and I share the same cultural background so um that connection was immediate you know in in the sense of you know conversation and Howard University you know represents worldwide so many countries KLA and I uh embrace the fact that we shared a similar connection I I know there's some folks out there who young folks in particular who believe that the senator isn't Progressive enough or have faulted her for background as a prosecutor what do you think when you saw the criticism well quite frankly it's so important to be on the inside there's a thing and I have full disclosure I'm a lawyer as well um as Monique and and so we understand this at a different um in a different space which is it's important to have the people who make the decisions of how crimes are prosecuted to look like us if we had prosecutorial offices where no one was a woman no one was a woman of no one was a person of color we would not have equal justice Beed out and I believe that incredibly strongly and I think that when you look at some of the programs that she put in place at that time you see that she is trying to emphasize keeping communities of color safe and keeping people of color on the right side of justice and equality and being treated fairly even if they do have an issue where they may have committed a crime quickly any plans to celebrate with her soon you know I imagine that she is on a schedule that she does not get to control but we are celebrating with her virtually and I have no doubt that we have and in spirit no question I mean this is historical this is a historical moment for all women and a historical moment in time that we should embrace and we should celebrate a glass ceiling surely has been broken Monique Leach uh pyris and Jill Lewis we thank you so much for being with us thank you Michelle thank you in this momentous challenging and historic year for black folks more history may be made on November 3D election day make sure your voice is heard make sure you are registered and make sure you vote thank you for watching good night if we're going to make progress anywhere we need you everywhere and sometimes to make change you've got to change how change is made so do not be constrained by tradition do not listen when they say it can't be done and do not be burdened by what has been when you can create what should be [Music]