‘Madame Vice President’ – So what do you know about her?
Caribbean Life, JANUARY 22-28, 2021 27
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
One step at a time.
That’s how you get anywhere:
methodical, with purpose, one
foot in front of the other until
you get where you’re going. You
never waver. You never take
shortcuts, side roads, or easyouts,
and as in “Kamala’s Way”
by Dan Morain, you keep your
eyes on the goal every minute
of the journey.
At this point in time, Kamala
Harris almost needs no introduction.
Much of what you need to
know is summed up in this:
says Morain, she “misses little
and forgets even less.” Still, a
lot of things about her life were
left out of her biography, “The
Truths We Hold,” or ignored
by most articles written about
her.
Much has been said about
Harris’ mother but little has
been said about her father, for
example. Harris herself has
said that they were “not close,”
and Morain offers reasons why,
as well as some background on
Harris’ paternal side.
Outside of California, Harris’
rise to political fame might be
perceived as meteoric, but the
truth is that it took more than
thirty years of focus. While
studying at Howard University,
Harris worked as an intern in
Senator Alan Cranston’s office;
after passing the California bar
exam, she became Deputy District
Attorney at the Alameda
County District Attorney’s
office and she got a peek at politics;
she worked in “the hothouse
of San Francisco criminal
justice politics,” was later
elected to the office once held
by Cranston in the Senate, and
is now in the second-highest
position in America. Along the
way, as one can expect from
a no-nonsense woman, there
were controversies.
Morain shares little-discussed
details of Harris’ relationship
with bigger-than-life
Willie Brown, former mayor
of San Francisco. He writes
deeply of Harris’ vow not to call
Book cover of “Kamala’s Way” by Dan morain.
for the death penalty on any
California inmate. He explains
the strange tie between Harris
and Kimberly Guilfoyle. And
he writes of Harris, who gets
things done and doesn’t “care
that she had ruffled someone’s
feelings.”
The first time you see
“Kamala’s Way,” hold it in your
hands, and think a minute. Did
you read her biography “The
Truths We Hold”? If so, then
you’ve already read about thirty
percent of this book; indeed,
author Dan Morain liberally
uses quotes from the bio. Is
the other seventy percent – the
parts you haven’t read – worth
reading?
Probably, yes, if you’re excited
beyond measure to have
Kamala Harris as Vice President,
because Morain gives
details on Harris’ life that will
be new to a good number of
readers, especially political outsiders
and non-Californians.
These are the things Harris
herself has avoided discussing,
but Morain hasn’t.
They’re not all hot-button,
though; in fact, Morain shares
stories of Harris when the cameras
are gone, and he does it in
a way that’s not sensational or
tabloid-ish. Instead, it’s thorough,
honest, and a quick-toread
education about our new
Second in Command, so if you
think you don’t know much
about her, add it to your Must-
Read pile.
Having “Kamala’s Way” is a
great next step.
“Kamala’s Way: An
American Life” by Dan
Morain
c.2021, Simon & Schuster
$28.00 / $37.00
Canada 259 pages
Dan Morain, in Davis, Calif. on Tuesday Nov. 10, 2020. Hector Amezcua
Beckford distributes hot Halal meals
By Nelson A. King
City Council candidate and
community leader, Anthony
Beckford, in partnership with
the Hunger Truck, on Saturday
distributed over 100 Hot Halal
Meals to community members
in Flatbush and East Flatbush.
The distribution took place
by the Nostrand Playground at
the corner of Foster and Nostrand
avenues.
Since the beginning of the
pandemic, Jamaican American
Beckford has distributed more
than 13,000 masks, 1,500 food
boxes, 2,000 bottles of hand
sanitizer and has helped distribute
over 160,000 hot halal
meals.
Beckford said the Hunger
Truck coalition comprises Pakistani
American Youth Society,
Muslims Giving Back, DH Care
and others, which has been
servicing the people of New
York City since March 2020.
“Before the pandemic, community
members in Flatbush
and East Flatbush have faced
food insecurities. The pandemic
has only further exposed the
disparities that we have been
facing as a community,” Beckford
said. “I am a public servant
to the community members
of the 45th District. What
my community experiences, I
experience as well.
“It is my duty to provide
whatever services and resources
that I can and build partnerships
to do so,” Beckford added.
“That way, many of the community
needs can be met. This
is what representation looks
like.
“I will continue to distribute
meals to our community on a
weekly basis,” he continued.
“My goal is to put an end to
our impoverish conditions and
bring about result based solutions.”