“It’s so good to be home.”
Those were Kamala Harris’s first words to a packed house on Tuesday night at Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. Even Mayor Barbara Lee showed up for what turned into a lively, intimate, and hopeful conversation between the former vice president and Rep. Lateefah Simon.
As soon as Harris said those words, the diverse crowd erupted in cheers and applause
“We love you!” one audience member shouted.
The conversation didn’t revolve around Harris’s failed presidential campaign or her new book, “107 Days,” about her attempted sprint to the White House, or her future political aspirations. Rather, the dialogue focused on the current political moment, the upcoming midterm elections, and her personal connections to Oakland — and to Simons.
Rep. Lateefah Simon and former vice president Kamala Harris have a personal relationship dating back nearly three decades. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
Attendees cheer as former Vice President Kamala Harris walks onto the stage for a hometown event in support of her book tour. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
Harris offered up some sharp critiques of the Trump Administration, and an unnerving prediction, telling Simon that she expects the Supreme Court to gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allows voters to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps in court. SCOTUS is currently considering whether the provision remains constitutional.
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“This is part of the agenda they have been having for decades,” she told the crowd. “We are witnessing the most corrupt, callous, and incompetent administration in this White House that we have ever seen in America.”
Harris said the stakes are high for the midterms, as there is an urgent need to place guardrails around the Trump Administration.
“When we win the midterms, which we will do, but it will not be easy,” she said. “We will put in place colleagues for Latieeah Simon in Congress.”
Harris also raised concerns about the SAVE America Act, a voter suppression measure that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in February, but still lacks the votes to pass in the Senate. It would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a photo ID when voting. These requirements would require citizens to spend significant sums to obtain an original birth certificate or passport. It could also disproportionately impact trans people and married women — anyone whose current legal name doesn’t match their birth certificate.
“Wouldn’t you say that $165 for a passport is a poll tax?” asked Simon.
“It’s a new version of legalizing obstruction to the ability of people to register to vote,” Harris responded.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee was in attendance at the event at the newly restored Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
Douglas Emhoff, Harris’ husband and former second gentleman, is greeted by cheers as he walks to his seat. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
At several points, the conversation became more intimate, as Harris and Simon discussed their personal relationship, which goes back almost three decades.
Simon shared stories from when the two first met, when Simon was executive director of the Center for Young Women’s Development — now the Young Women’s Freedom Center — in San Francisco and Harris was working for the office of the San Francisco city attorney.
“I was really young, maybe 21,” Simon said. “You called me and said, ‘Lateefah, someone told me that I should call you. You work with young women who are living and surviving on the streets. And I said, ‘Yes. I work with teen prostitutes.’ And you said to me, ‘There is no such thing Lateefah Simon as a teenage prostitute.’”
Simon spoke of Harris’s work to fight for trafficked victims who had been wrongfully arrested and jailed in San Francisco.
“That’s a story of collective action,” Harris said. “It was about the power of advocacy and activism and seeing what is possible and then fighting for it, even what has not been done before. And so much of the spirit behind that work was born right here in Oakland.”
Lee was joined in the audience by other local elected officials, including councilmembers Rowena Brown, Charlene Wang, and Janani Ramachandran, as well as Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband and former second gentleman, and other members of Harris’ family.
“The Bay Area is the place that always encouraged, whether I was in office or not,” Harris said. “It’s the kind of work you are doing that Mayor Lee, and so many others, have done.”
Harris said in addition to her formal book tour, she’s been on a “shadow tour,” with no press, just her in conversation with everyday Americans worried about the trajectory of the country.
“Especially after the election, I have felt a deep need to just listen,” Harris said. “What I’m enjoying about this moment is I can do it, and it’s not transactional. I’m not asking anybody for a vote. I’m spending time with a lot of young people and asking them just how they are doing, and there’s a lot that they have to say.”
Earlier in the day, as part of this “shadow tour,” Harris visited the East Oakland Youth Development Center, which opened its doors in 1978 to provide Black and brown youth with job opportunities, counseling services, and other support. Harris had the opportunity to speak with the center’s executive director, Selena Wilson, and with youth participants.
“The center reminded me of the community in which I was raised, here in Oakland and in Berkeley,” Harris said. “We were raised in a community of people, who told us children that we were special. What is happening in so many places here in the Bay area and around the country is the community coming together, understanding that one of the greatest returns on our investment of time, of money, of energy, of thought, of resources, is the children.”
Harris said she frequently hears concerns from young people that what they are learning in school won’t lead to any “meaningful and sustained employment.” Harris said they’re also anxious about the climate crisis and the rapid rise of AI technology.
Then Harris said she wanted to take a “controversial” stand: that the voting age should be lowered to 16.
Harris spoke candidly about the the current state of political landscape and what Oakland has meant for her political career before getting personal and talking about grief. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
Attendees got to hear Harris in conversation with Rep. Simon for a little over an hour. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside
“We look at our 16 and 17 year olds, and we want them to be more engaged,” Harris said. “Well, I think that lowering the voting age is one way to do that, because when we ask them to understand and think about what they want for their future, they will know they have some power to decide.”
One of the most intimate moments between the two political powerhouses came shortly before Simon asked a question that had been submitted by someone in attendance. Simon told the story of how Harris introduced her to her husband, Kevin Weston, who died in 2014 after battling a rare form of leukemia. Harris married the couple, Simon said, and also delivered the eulogy at Weston’s funeral.
Five years earlier, Harris’ mom, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, had died from cancer.
“How do you process grief, still leading with so much strength, beauty, and clarity?” asked Simon. The audience member who submitted the question had also lost her mother.
“Grief is a physical experience, it’s an emotional experience, it’s mental,” Harris said. “It’s everything, and the only thing that really helps deal with the sharp pain of it is time. That’s the reality from my experience. But the thing about it, it’s always important to remember that whatever you shared with your mother, time you spent, the things she taught you, that stuff is banked. It can’t be taken away.”
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