The Truths We Hold

The Truths We Hold is the autobiography of civil rights activist, Californian Senator, and Vice President Kamala Harris, which details her early years in the justice system fighting for the people and what she has been doing in the last few years to help those suffering from the inefficiencies in the United States government.

Kamala realized at her time studying at Howard University that she wanted to be a lawyer. She realized her true heroes weren’t academics and doctors, but lawyers. She admired those involved in the civil rights movement and wanted to become like them to enact lasting change in the world.

After graduating in 1986, she had the goal of becoming a prosecutor. Her family wasn’t totally on board because to them the law had too often been used against minorities. But she felt confident that she could use her position to be a champion for equality.

During her final year of law school, she had an internship in a District Attorney’s office. As an intern, she didn’t have much influence but she learned the ins and outs of the courts. It was this experience that helped her decide what kind of lawyer she’d be.

After graduating, she had a job lined up as deputy DA in Oakland. Here she took her responsibility very seriously— she knew that prosecutors have a direct hand in people’s fates. She was part of the decision of whether people would walk free or be imprisoned. She had many challenging cases defending the vulnerable including working as a prosecutor for child sexual assault cases.

In 2003, Harris became DA of San Francisco. She used this position to tackle injustices such as mass incarceration. The United States imprisons more people than any other place in the world. Much of this is due to the “War on Drugs,” which imprisons countless people for minor drug offenses. Harris pioneered the “Back on Track” program. This initiative helped non-violent first-time offenders have other options than going straight to the criminal justice system. Instead, they can go to boot camps and take classes on things like parenting or finances and even complete job training. Two years later, only 10 percent of Back on Track participants had made another offense, compared to the 50 percent in other cities who committed similar crimes. The program also only cost $5,000 a person rather than the $40,000 a year that it typically costs to house an inmate per year. In 2015, California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer announced she would retire after 24 years in office. At this news, Kamala decided to run for her Senate seat in the upcoming election. She had popularity as a progressive DA, but it was a hard-fought…