Right around the time that the national news media became fixated on the first of many “nonsensical” (defined as “absurd, bizarre, foolish, insane, unreal, fantastical, crazy, strange”) statements about Vice President Kamala Harris of not knowing who she is, Juanita O’Neal, one of our book club members whose turn it was to select the next book decided we should read The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris. The following are comments from the book club members:
“It’s a must read and should become a requirement in all secondary schools’ civics classes. And for anyone who wants to know who Kamala is, read the book. It’s all there.”
—Emurriel Holloway
“At every stage of her life, Kamala Harris has been for the people. Grounded by her upbringing, she has consistently taken some of the most difficult problems that others considered unsolvable and worked tirelessly to solve them never losing sight of who she is fighting for.”
—Marjorie Hurst
“With a child’s heart, Kamala accepted the fact that the big yellow bus was how she went to school during desegregation. She was, even then, developing a conscientiousness about the significance of being in a diverse environment and learning to accept people for who they are and she realized at an early age that we are better together.”
—Willette Johnson
“Kamala Harris does all that she can legally to assist those citizens who are among the last, the lost and the least in American society, mainly those who are Black & Hispanic.”
—Juanita O’Neal
“Reading The Truths We Hold caused me to honestly reflect on wanting and needing to do more than what I’m doing to positively affect others and the world. I am proud that a woman of color, with integrity, compassion and power to make a difference, is the person that inspired me to up my game!”
—Patricia Spradley
This book was copywritten in January of 2019 and obviously written before then. It gives an incisive insight into how Kamala Harris approached every position to which she was elected up to being elected as vice president—notably with a plan to get done what needed to be done. So, for critics who say she has presented no “plans” for what she intends on accomplishing as president, they are prevaricating—to put it nicely. She has presented a plan for each of her major priorities. Just go to kamalaharris.com to learn about her vision for the future.
As usual, as a woman—and specifically as woman of color—she is being held to a much higher standard than her white, male opponent who isn’t even able to articulate a complete thought and has no plans for “the people,” only for himself and his billionaire friends. What will he do? “Just be a dictator” on day 1” and “you won’t have to worry about voting again.”
The stakes in this election are higher than they’ve ever been. Our charge is succinctly stated by Kamala Harris in the last two paragraphs of The Truths We Hold.
“My daily challenge to myself is to be part of the solution, to be a joyful warrior in the battle to come. My challenge to you is to join that effort. To stand up for our ideals and our values. Let’s not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
“Years from now, our children and our grandchildren will look up and lock eyes with us. They will ask us where we were when the stakes were so high. They will ask us what it was like. I don’t want us to just tell them how we felt. I want us to tell them what we did.” (emphasis added) ■
