It's important to have people in your life who will applaud your ambition.
Kamala HarrisRead
I did not learn the flaws of the criminal-justice system in law school or college or by reading about it. I grew up knowing the flaws and how it was disproportionately impacting the black community. It's not academic for me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Kamala Harris emphasizes her lived experience with the criminal-justice system's flaws rather than theoretical knowledge gained through education.
In this quote, Kamala Harris reflects on her deep understanding of the criminal-justice system, which is shaped not by academic study but by her personal experiences and observations of its impact on the black community. She underscores the importance of recognizing systemic injustices that many may learn about only in a classroom, while for others, these issues are apparent and lived realities that inform their perspectives and advocacy.
Themes
JusticeCriminal JusticeSystemic FlawsBlack CommunityExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about criminal justice reform.
More from Kamala Harris
All quotes →We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.
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History has proven that each generation of Howard graduates will forge the way forward for our country and our world.
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My mother... would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?' You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.
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I was born realizing the flaws in the criminal justice system.
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My mother was and will always remain my greatest hero.
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