19-05-2025
Kamala Harris's Most Powerful Quotes For Tough Times
It's Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and what better way to celebrate than by looking back at some of Kamala Harris's most inspiring moments! Kamala Harris is the first Black and South Asian female Vice President, and one of the most recognized US officials in history. She has Indian and Afro-Jamaican heritage. Her mother, Shyamala, immigrated from India, and her father, Donald, immigrated from Jamaica. Harris has proven to be a beacon of hope, courage, and never letting up on the good fight for democracy, freedom, and equality. So, let's take a look at some of her most inspiring quotes, if you're searching for a little extra hope in your life right about now!
"My mother had a saying: 'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you're not the last.' And that's why breaking those barriers is worth it. As much as anything else, it is also to create that path for those who will come after us."
"It's important to have people in your life who will applaud your ambition."
"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they've never seen it before."
'Optimism is the fuel driving every fight I've been in."
'There will be a resistance to your ambition. There will be people who say to you, 'You are out of your lane.' They are burdened by only having the capacity to see what has always been instead of what can be. But don't you let that burden you."
"The American dream belongs to all of us."
"Anyone who claims to be a leader must speak like a leader. That means speaking with integrity and truth."
"The time for outrage is now. The time for solidarity is now. The time for action is now. The time for change is now."
"Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. Don't let anyone take away your power. Now is the time to stand up. Now is the time to speak out."
"What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters. You're going to walk into many rooms in your life and career where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you've had. But you remember that when you are in those rooms, you are not alone. We are all in that room with you applauding you on. Cheering your voice. And just so proud of you. So you use that voice and be strong."
'You never have to ask anyone permission to lead."
"No longer can some wait on the sidelines, hoping for incremental change. In times like this, silence is complicity."
"Make no mistake, the road ahead will not be not easy. We will stumble. We may fall short. But I pledge to you that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly. We will speak truths. And we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us."
'Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking.'
"It's about freedom, it's about equality, it's about dignity. When you achieve equality, and freedom, and fairness, it's not because I grant it to you. It's because you fought for it because it is your right. This is not about benevolence or charity; it is about every human being's God-given right. What do we collectively do to fight for that? That's what justice represents to me — it's about empowerment of the people."
"My daily challenge to myself is to be part of the solution, to be a joyful warrior in the battle to come."
'When you lift up women, you lift up families, you lift up communities, you lift up economies — and you lift up America.'
"The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say: The light of America's promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting."
"When you [are introduced] for the first time, the greeting is not 'Pleased to meet you.' The greeting is 'I see you.' I see you as a complete human being. At this moment in time, it is so critically important in our country for all people to be seen in their full selves, in a way that gives them the dignity they deserve."
"We know the power of the people and we know we are all in this together."
"Our country's wounds can be healed. We just have to have the political courage to act."
"Even in dark times, we not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon, and then we plant our flag on it. We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we will rise up."
"My parents would bring me to protests strapped tightly in my stroller, and my mother, Shyamala, raised my sister, Maya, and me to believe that it was up to us and every generation of Americans to keep on marching."
"Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all, including the Black women who are too often overlooked, but so often prove they are the backbone of our democracy."
"While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuels this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people—a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up."
"The measure of you is so much bigger than you; it's the impact you have, it's what you do in service to others. And that's how I was raised. I was raised that it is not about charity and benevolence, it's about your duty. No one's going to congratulate you for it—it's what you're supposed to do."
"We cannot lose hope. And in order to have hope, one must first speak truth."
"There's an adage a historian once called 'a law of history,' true of every society across the ages. The adage is: 'Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.' I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. … America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion stars—the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service, may that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America."
"We cannot let up in the fight for equality, fairness, and justice. Even when, if not especially when, it is hard or uncomfortable to talk about."
And finally, "We did it! We did it, Joe."
Be sure to share your favorite Kamala Harris quote down below!
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