Thank you so much, mr. Chairman. It is always a joy to partake in the convention of the naacp. I think this is my second event. Lifelong member, partially by force because of my dad. And now as an adult, certainly want to be a part and always excited to support what you are doing and a shoutout to my brother, the president , Derrick Johnson. Senator harris, it is so great to see you. Ill refrain from calling you kamala today, because i think its so important that they put some respect on your name. So im going to lead by example. We know you are in the middle of debate prep. I wish i was in the room with you to give you some oneliners, but hopefully, we can get you ready and most comfortable today. How are you doing, how are you feeling . Senator harris i am doing well. So good to see you. I just want to thank you for that introduction. Thank you for not only talking about the head of the naacp, but my pastor, dr. Amos brown. Thank you to Derrick Johnson for your ongoing leadership. We talk so often these days about the importance of everything that is at stake and making sure everyones voice is heard. So its good to be with everyone and, angela, its so good to see you. Im good. One day at a time. 39 days before an election that will determine the course of history for generations to come. Angela yeah, it will. And with that, i want to start because i know that part of whats happening in debate prep is they got to get you a wraparound. A rapid round. One of my favorite things to do for the podcast is a rapid round. We want to loosen up and dive right in. We want to consider this as family time. So, here we go. Lets start. Senator harris ok, ok. Angela you are a proud a. K. A. How do you normally greet each other . Senator harris with a hug. But not during covid. [laughter] angela ok, what do you guys say . Whats the little thing you say . Senator harris greetings, soror. When you go through the process of becoming one, then we can have that conversation. [laughter] angela not happening. I am black and not greek. Im eddie rothschild. Anyway. Did you know that you and snoop dogg share a birthday . Senator harris i did. I actually did. Angela oh senator harris and i talked to him recently. About voting, actually. Yeah. Angela i love it. I love it. Senator harris about all of us voting. Angela thats really important right now. Ok. Your favorite professor at howard. Senator harris oh. Dr. Hodgkins. There were so many, but ill start with him. He was one who had been a real barrierbreaker in his own career in life. But, you know, there are so many. The thing about the professors at howard is that they were the best and the brightest in their field. They could have taught anywhere that they wanted to teach. But they chose to teach us. And in that way, really inspired us in ways that were very special and long lasting. Angela now that howard has their commercial from this, too, this little plug, were going to keep doing rapid round. Senator harris in fairness [talking simultaneously] truly. That is an hbcu experience. Its universal in that way. Angela ok. Who threw the best shade during the democratic primary debate . You have got to pick one. Senator harris besides myself. [laughter] angela ok. Ok. No, you can say yourself. You can say yourself. Whats the first thing you do in the morning . Senator harris oh. A combination of things. But read is one of the first things i do. Angela favorite thing to cook. The people dont know you can slay down in the kitchen. Senator harris a roast chicken. Its kind of my goto. Angela and then, best rapper alive. Senator harris tupac. [laughter] angela you said he lives on. Senator harris i know. I keep doing that. [laughter] angela listen. West coast girls think tupac lives on. Im with you. Im with you. So tupac, keep going. Senator harris i keep doing that. Who would i say . I mean, theres so many. There are some that i would not mention right now, because they should stay in their lane. But others [laughter] angela i dont know what that means. I want to know who those are. Keep going. Senator harris keep moving, angela. Angela all right. I think that was not supposed to be a stumper either. A. K. A. Was founded when and where . Senator harris in 1908 at howard university. Angela another plug for howard. Ok. Person who you would fan girl over the most if you met them right now. Senator harris angela, why are you doing this to me . [laughter] the person i would fangirl the most um. Beyonce. Angela ok. Beyonce. And then, what about the last person you called. Who was the last person you called . Senator harris the last person i called on the phone was my assistant. [laughter] i asked him if we were running on time or not. [laughter] angela ok. Angela ok. The last thing i want to tell you is, did you know, this is my last wraparound. Did you know that mina just made gumbo and made the base, the roux, with chick pea flour. Senator harris oh, goodness. I did not know that. She didnt need to do that. See, there are certain things you just dont need to change. And just flour is how you make a roux. You dont need to do chickpea flour. Right. [laughter] just good oldpurpose, you know, flour. Angela i know. [laughter] i told her, i said, i know what im going to say since you wont give me anything, im telling on you. I had to do that. So now, today was a very significant day for you, switching gears. Youve already gone to see Ruth Bader Ginsburg lying in state at the capitol. And just want us to center for a minute about the importance of this moment, what the Supreme Court means and why its so important for all of us, not just to know who r. B. G. Was, as i sit here with one of these, is period, and one of these is r. B. G. , by this company who is also making you one, on fire. Theyre making a kamala one. Women heroes. As we sit here thinking about her heroic career, why do people need to know about Ruth Bader Ginsburg . Senator harris i mean, thats how i started today. And what has been, in addition to everything else, with 39 days before the election, where my head has been. Which is thinking about the importance of the United StatesSupreme Court and the leaders of our nation who have sat on that court and changed the trajectory of our lives. The inspiration for me to become a lawyer was Thurgood Marshall. Who, of course, you know, trailed the way through his work up until being on the court for brown v. Board of education, which desegregated the schools of america. I think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg similarly. You know, it is interesting because i think theres a lot of coverage that has been about the fame that she received late in life but not understanding that her fame started when she was in her teenage years. In terms of the work she had been doing every step of the way to lay the foundation for equality for all people, but with her focus having been an emphasis on women. And when i was there this morning, while she lay in state in the United States capitol, i am the only black woman in the United States senate. Angela yeah. Senator harris and only the second in the history of the United States senate to have been elected. Im looking at this casket laying in state. She is the first woman, the first woman ever and, you know, she was a petite woman. And there was such an inverse relationship between her size and her stature. Angela hm mm. Sen. Harris in terms of everything she achieved in our ongoing fight for civil rights. If you look at her jurisprudence, if you look at the way she set up the cases along the way, it was very much of that same methodology that thurgood and Charles Hamilton houston and con stance baker motley, how they were thinking about how you set up precedent, one block at a time. I cant help but think that she wanted to live much longer. Angela yah. Sen. Harris but that she probably held on longer than most could. Because of that sheer determination. Sitting there. It was very somber. It was a very somber way to start the day. I looked at her casket and i thought, you know, she earned the right to rest in peace. She earned the right to rest in peace. Angela and yet we find ourselves in this position where the same day that we found out she was no longer with us, you know, donald trump was tweeting about what he planned to do with his nominee. You just of course mentioned Constance Baker monthly. Now you did in your acceptance speech as well for the vice presidency. Who do you think, because we also know that Vice President biden has committed to nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court. When you think of some of the women who have inspired you, some who may be your peers, some of us thought you would be a great Supreme Court justice. We want you to have all the jobs apparently. But what are you thinking about, you know, who would be some great women, black women, that could serve in that role . Senator harris there are so many. Im not going to name any names. That joe biden will create his list at the appropriate time. But there are many names of women i have worked with over the years, who each have been trail blazers. And the thing i know about black women, in whatever we do, but in particular in the profession of law, because so many have been the first, is that when you are looking at who were talking about, you will see some of the brightest minds in law, as well as some of the people who are the most civicminded. People who have lived a life of service. In the fight for justice for everybody. So, you know, you and i have talked about this many times. Many of us may be the first to do anything, but there are a whole lot of us. I think people mean it as a compliment sometimes when they look at you and say, oh, youre special. I think they may mean it as a compliment. But i think theres another side to that, which is to suggest youre the only one like you. And therefore that you are alone. As i mentor young women and men, i remind them that, no, dont ever let anyone make you feel alone. There are a lot of us. We come with people. And the pie is big enough so that we should be in every slice of that pie and occupying every region of our society and roles of leadership. So there are a lot of black women. Is the long way of saying there are a lot of black women who have earned the right to be on a list, to be the next Supreme Court justice and to fill the shoes of the legacy of Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and so many others. Angela i love that. I think, too, you know, again, as the chairman talked about, were in the middle of so many pandemics and we know another one, you know, after mourning the loss of Breonna Taylor for over 100 days, almost 200 days, now, just wondering how you felt. Because so often youre asked to respond without tapping into your feelings or even being able to express your feelings. How did you feel as a black woman hearing about the charges in the Breonna Taylor case or the lack thereof . Senator harris it was, you know, it was a gut punch in many ways. I have been in conversations with her mother for months now. The first conversation that i had with her, when she talked about her daughter, and therefore the life that has now been lost, Breonna Taylor was a caregiver in her spirit and her nature. She cared for her grandmother. She cared for her family. She cared for her community. She cared for society. She cared for people she had never met. Which is why she wanted to be, as her life dream, a nurse but decided to first become an e. M. T. So she could respond to the call on the street. So that she would understand what was happening in the street. On the ground. And be able to respond immediately. Thats why she became an e. M. T. , with a lifes purpose and dream of becoming a nurse. And she was beautiful inside and out. In every way. And it is tragic and i have been saying from the beginning that her life deserves to be valued and to be honored and she and her family and the rest of the community deserve justice. They deserved justice then, they deserve justice today and they deserve justice tomorrow. And its now become cliche. But it just remains true. I will not stop speaking her name. Angela and speaking of speaking her name, the attorney general in the state, daniel cameron, did just that at the r. N. C. Spoke her name and then there are these charges for bullets shot into the home of her white neighbor but not bullets that killed Breonna Taylor. Given the fact that you were a prosecutor, would you have pressed charges against the three officers involved in the case . Senator harris well, i dont know all the details of the case. But i will say this. There needs to be transparency about what happened and that family and that community deserve justice. And thats just the bottom line. Angela so speaking of justice, i know that you attended at least one one that i know of, a protest, kind of incognito. You went to just stand in solidarity. How does that compare, right, to the way donald trump talked about black lives matter as a terrorist organization, maybe some of his supporters and folks who are confused about what b. L. M. Actually stands for, what it means, especially with given the fact that patrice and opel and alicia were on the front of Time Magazine as 100 people senator harris good for Time Magazine for doing that because they have. And the brilliance and the impact of black lives matter, and their brilliance in conceiving it. History is going to show, it was an Inflection Point in the ongoing fight to justice and to reform the criminal Justice System and americas criminal Justice System. I actually believe as a former prosecutor, that black lives matter has been the most significant agent for change within the criminal Justice System, because it has been a counter force to the force within the system that is so grounded in status quo and in its own traditions. Many of which have been harmful and have been discriminatory in the way theyve been enforced. So being there, you know, being at the protest, i mean, i grew up in protest. My parents were active in the civil rights movement, as you know. So its nothing new. Ive been in marches since i was in a stroller. When i was at howard university, i was protesting against apartheid. I mean, its nothing new for me. But being there at this point in terms of honoring the life of george floyd and breonna and ahmaud arbery, we can go down the list sadly, a long list, it is about a community and the country speaking out, understanding that nothing that we have achieved that has been about progress in this country has come without a fight. Nothing. That we have achieved in our country that has been about progress, in particular around civil rights, has come without a fight. And so i always am going to interpret these protests as an essential component of evolution in our country. As an essential component or mark of a real democracy, and as necessary. As necessary. The peoples voices must be heard. And it is often the people who must speak to get their government to do what it is supposed to do, but may not do naturally, unless the people speak loudly. And obviously peacefully. But speak loudly. Angela you mentioned the name of george floyd, and of course you led the charge with senator booker and the Congressional Black Caucus on the house side for the George Floyd Justice in policing act. Is that a bill, senator harris, that you would would urge President Biden to sign into law in his first 30 days, for example, as president . Senator harris so the justice in policing act yes, corey booker, my brother in the senate, we led it on the senate side. But then got a lot of senators to sign on to it. On the house side, our fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus brought together a Bipartisan Group to support it. And it does a number of things which joe biden has, without any hesitation, said that he will do in our administration. Including banning chokeholds and carotid holds. Lets be clear. George floyd would be alive today if those holds had been banned. Creating a National Standard for use of force. Why is that important . Well, because where there have been cases that might be able to go to court, where an officer has used excessive force, it is often the case that the standard thats applied makes it difficult to actually prove the case and win the case. Because heres what happens. In many jurisdictions, in the case of excessive force, the question that is asked is, was the use of force reasonable . And as we know, you can reason away just about anything. So what were saying is no, the just, the fair question to ask is, was that use of force necessary . And so thats about changing the standard. One of the things that joe biden feels strongly about is we need to have basically a National Center where we are keeping the names and keeping track of Police Officers who have broken the rules and broken the law. Why . Well, because, again, so many of the cases dont go to court because they may not be provable based on the standard, or theres a prosecutor who is unwilling to do it. But they will often go through administrative hearings. Right . And so it may result in that Police Officer being fired. But because theres been no court record of it and no established record of it, that officer can move to another jurisdiction and apply to another Police Department and that record doesnt follow them. So were saying there needs to be a central database with this information so we can keep track of these things. We will eliminate the death penalty.