United States Vice President Kamala Harris took a few moments before taking the stage at the first annual Rocket Foundation Summit to talk exclusively with The Atlanta Voice about what’s at stake for Black Americans this election cycle, gun violence prevention and the continued fight for a universal ban on assault weapons, and why she loves Atlanta as much as she does.
The Vice President met with The Voice in the bowels of the Carter Center on Tuesday, June 18.
The Atlanta Voice: Good afternoon Madam Vice President. I’ve come here today to speak to you about a number of things, one of which is your leadership on gun violence awareness and prevention. We talk about prevention a lot. Then we have the mass shooting that took place at Peachtree Center last week. What are we going to do about that?
Vice President Kamala Harris: There’s a lot we need to do about it. First I’ll just start by saying that it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s part of what we want to remind everybody, that there’s nothing normal about it and that we should refuse to accept it as being normal.
There are a number of things we need to do about it, there’s what Quavo is doing here in Atlanta, which is about turning his pain and grief into something that is productive. There’s the work that we need to do that is about helping communities that have experienced this gun violence and the trauma that comes with it. We need to help people get to a place of productive healing of their trauma.
AV: Because it doesn’t end with the shooting.
KH: That’s exactly right. The trauma is the injury that’s invisible to the eye, but can be lifelong if it’s not addressed and healed. So that’s about diagnosis and treatment of trauma and encouraging folks to know that it’s OK to talk about it. We have to let people know that it’s a sign of strength.
AV: How does voting and being an active participant in the political process, both locally and nationally, play a part?
KH: Elections have a lot to do with how we can address the issue. Joe Biden and I are proud that we are responsible for one of the first meaningful pieces of gun safety legislation in 30 years. We still need assault weapons bans, we need universal background checks, we still need red flag laws and in order to get to that place we need members of the United States Congress who have the courage to take a stand. We’re not trying to take everybody’s guns away. It’s about reasonable gun safety.
AV: What’s at stake for Black voters this election? It’s always personal, but it feels more personal now.
KH: I think that this is one of the most significant elections of our lifetime. You look at it on the fact that do we want to have a President of the United States who is focused on fixing problems or making problems? Do we want a President of the United States who dealt with the longstanding issue of the high cost of insulin for diabetes patients. Black folks are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.
AV: Particularly in the south.
KH: [agreed] And most of them are in the south and too many of our seniors had to make a choice between filling their prescriptions or filling their refrigerators. We have for the first time capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month. That’s a game changer. This is something I would say to your readers, this is about a senior, a grandmother or a grandfather or an auntie, so even if you are are a young person this affects people in your life that you love. It’s about understanding solutions.
When people think about what’s at stake in this election, think about the kinds of decisions that Joe Biden and I have made which is about seeing where people are and dealing with longstanding problems. Do you want that kind of approach or do you want someone who openly talks about how he’s going to weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies? Somebody that talks about how he’s going to be a dictator on day one and used awful words to describe African countries and people that come from there.
AV: He’s used awful words to describe Atlanta too.
KH: And to describe my home city of Oakland, and Detroit and Milwaukee. What do those cities have in common?
AV: They have majority Black populations.
KH: Like Maya Angelou tells us, listen to people when they tell you who they are.
AV: Has Atlanta and Georgia as a whole, become the Biden-Harris administration’s personal battleground state? I have covered you for years, but it feels like I am covering you every week these days.
KH: I’ve been coming to Atlanta for years. I feel at home in Atlanta. Atlanta has always treated me like a daughter in terms of my earliest days of coming here. There’s so much history here. I don’t there is a Black elected official that doesn’t feel that way when they come to Atlanta.
AV: Why do you feel like the Trump campaign hasn’t come to Atlanta and spoken to voters here in Georgia as much as you and President Biden have?
KH: I’m not trying to get in that head. But I will say this, no voter should be taken for granted. Part of the reason I come back to Atlanta is because I love Atlanta. It’s important to recognize the people that live here and the people that have always been leaders here. I’m traveling all over the country because I feel very strongly that we have to earn people’s votes. I’m not taking any voter for granted. That’s about respect. If you respect the intelligence of voters you understand that you have to earn that vote.
AV: I guess it isn’t smart to just assume you will get the same level of support election after election?
KH: And don’t assume that people are going to fall for the okey-doke.
AV: Like having a rally in the Bronx.
KH: Or going to a Black church not on Sunday when the congregation is there.