Our country's first female vice president, and a 2024 presidential candidate, shattered the glass ceiling. These Kamala Harris quotes show how she did it and encourage girls and women to believe in themselves.
20 Kamala Harris Quotes That Will Inspire You
Updated on Oct. 10, 2024
On serving her country
“My entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.”
When accepting the nomination for president at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Harris reflected on her work as a prosecutor and how she would hold to the same ideals in representing all Americans in the highest position in government. “As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim but in the name of the people, for a simple reason: In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us,” she said. “And every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: Kamala Harris, for the people.”
On the past and the future
“What can be, unburdened by what has been.”
Harris has said this quote so often throughout her political career that it’s become a phrase uniquely associated with her—and not always for good. Her detractors used it to mock what some call her “self-help” style of speaking, but now her fans (aka the KHive) have reclaimed it on social media. Love it or hate it, the phrase is clearly one that Harris means.
It’s also one of the most relatable and inspirational quotes for women and people of color, promoting the idea that future possibilities will be wide open once we’ve been set free of the things that have held us back. At a campaign reception in June 2024, she used herself, the first female VP, as an example of such possibilities. “I am empirical evidence of the promise of America,” she said. “We know what can happen and what is possible when we collectively have the ability to see what can be, unburdened by what has been.”
On running for president
“You’re not running against Joe Biden. You are running against me.”
This gem from her debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in September 2024 is a classic Harris zinger, proof that the former prosecutor can still speak with force off the cuff. Although she is President Biden’s VP, Harris is asserting that she is her own person, with her own thoughts and ideas, not just a woman in the shadow of a man in a more prominent position.
“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden,” she said again later on in the debate. “And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country. One who believes in what is possible, one who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do.”
On community
“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”
Along with her quirky penchant for Venn diagrams, this viral quote has become a meme, with coconuts now serving as a symbol of support for Harris. One bar in Washington, D.C., even offered Piña Kamala coconut shots after she announced her campaign for president. But what does this funny and inspirational quote mean, anyway?
It comes from a speech Harris gave in May 2023 at the swearing-in ceremony of commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. She talked about how none of us lives in a vacuum and the importance of community. “My mother used to—she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?'” Harris said. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
On progress
“America, we are not going back. And we are charting a new way forward.”
Harris strives to present an optimistic view of America, affirming that things can get better and positive progress can be made. That’s why this quote about democracy, used in her 2024 DNC speech, has become her slogan. “Everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward. Ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America,” she said later in the speech. “That here, in this country, anything is possible. That nothing is out of reach. An America where we care for one another, look out for one another and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us. That none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed.”
On all the single ladies
“Single women in politics are viewed differently than single men.”
Often the most inspiring Kamala Harris quotes are the most honest and relatable, like this quote about relationships from her 2019 memoir The Truths We Hold. Society often views single women differently than men: spinsters (or “childless cat ladies,” as 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance called them) versus bachelors.
“As a single, professional woman in my 40s, and very much in the public eye, dating wasn’t easy,” wrote Harris, who married lawyer Doug Emhoff in 2014. “I knew that if I brought a man with me to an event, people would immediately start to speculate about our relationship. I also knew that single women in politics are viewed differently than single men. We don’t get the same latitude when it comes to our social lives.”
On family
“I’ve had a lot of titles over my career, and certainly ‘vice president’ will be great. But ‘Momala’ will always be the one that means the most.”
Like many families in America, Harris’s is blended: She is stepmom to her husband’s two children, Cole and Ella, who call her Momala, as she said in her first campaign speech as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2020. Also close with her sister, niece and great-nieces, Harris recognizes that family comes in many shapes and sizes.
At the 2020 DNC, she said she always strives to “put family first—the family you’re born with and the family you choose.” There’s a reason many Americans find these family quotes so relatable: Family can mean many things. Perhaps even more so today, it doesn’t always appear as a traditional nuclear unit—and that’s OK.
On refusing to be interrupted
“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”
This was perhaps the defining moment of the 2020 vice presidential debate, in which then-candidate Kamala Harris faced off with then-vice president Mike Pence. And when she did not allow him to interrupt her, she was speaking up for every woman who’s ever been cut off while voicing an opinion during an office meeting or dismissed in a conference room full of men or interrupted and “mansplained” to. Unfortunately, this still happens far too often—but Harris wasn’t having it. Judging by the response from women on social media, they both identified with the moment and applauded her reaction, making it one of the most empowering quotes from women in politics today.
On speaking your truth
“What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful, and your voice matters.”
Harris will always encourage young women, especially young women of color, to stand up for themselves and speak their truth. Before she was selected as the VP candidate, she told Marie Claire in 2019, “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.”
On paving the way
“My mother would say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.'”
Harris frequently mentions her mother, a breast cancer researcher, who was one of the guiding influences in her life. This is one of the Kamala Harris success quotes you hear often, as she likes to repeat the motto her mother shared with her. Even as far back as 2009, when she was the district attorney of San Francisco, she told a local paper about her mantra. During a 2018 speech at Spelman College, a historically Black college, she also recalled these words and expressed how important being a trailblazer is for future generations. “That’s why breaking those barriers is worth it,” she said. “As much as anything else, it is also to create that path for those who will come after us.”
On self-worth
“Do not let anyone ever tell you who you are.”
Speaking to young women at Spelman College, Harris talked about other people’s limited expectations of women, particularly Black women, offering words of hope and advice for those who’ve been gaslighted by society into thinking they’re less than they are or that they don’t deserve to achieve their goals.
Too often women are put down, have their identity dictated to them or are belittled for their hopes and dreams—but that shouldn’t be the case. “Do not be burdened by someone else’s assumptions of who you are,” she said. “Do not be burdened by their perspectives or judgment.” Like the most inspiring Kamala Harris quotes, this one reminds us of our own worth and encourages us to let go of self-doubt.
On persistence
“I eat ‘no’ for breakfast.”
When asked what advice she would give women young and old in a video posted to social media, Harris gave some life-changing advice about not backing down in the face of naysayers. “You never have to ask anyone’s permission to lead,” she said. “In my career, I’ve been told many times, ‘It’s not your time. It’s not your turn.’ And let me just tell you, I eat ‘no’ for breakfast, so I would recommend the same. It’s a hearty breakfast.” She’s determined and persistent, and she’s not going to apologize for it—and neither should anyone else. A big bowl of “no” can actually fuel your fire.
On ambition
“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.”
Harris has been criticized for being “too ambitious.” And that’s a sexist comment. After all, when has a man ever been criticized for having too much ambition? Unfortunately, strong women, particularly in politics, often receive negative attention. In a CNBC report, anonymous sources called her “opportunistic” and said they flat out “don’t like her.”
At the 2020 Black Girls Lead conference, she addressed the issue of ambition, noting that women are too often told they’re not capable of something, simply because it hasn’t been done before. With this “dream big” quote, Harris is saying that even though being strong might rub some the wrong way, it’s worth the fight.
On activism
“My mother always used to say, ‘Don’t just sit around and complain about things. Do something.'”
Harris’s activist parents inspired in her a lifelong passion for making a change in the world, as she explained on Aug. 12, 2020, when accepting the Democratic vice presidential nomination. “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,” Harris said. “She’d tell us, ‘Don’t sit around and complain about things; do something.’ So I did something. I devoted my life to making real the words carved in the United States Supreme Court: Equal justice under law.” The next day, she’d reiterate that statement on social media, honoring her mother and passing on wise words to a new generation.
On being a role model
“Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
In her post-2020 election speech, Harris talked about the women who came before her and those who will come after. “I’m thinking about … the generations of women—Black women, Asian, White, Latina and Native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight,” she said. “Tonight, I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision … And I stand on their shoulders.”
Echoing her mantra, she continued with more confidence-boosting words for young people. “But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” she said. “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.” Powerful words!
On social justice
“In times like this, silence is complicity.”
Like the best Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, Kamala Harris quotes like this one inspire without shying away from hard truths. As a Black woman, Harris is uniquely positioned in politics to discuss racism in the United States and to inspire everyone to take action, as she did when speaking about the protests against racism in the summer of 2020. “Let’s speak the truth: People are protesting because Black people have been treated as less than human in America. Because our country has never fully addressed the systemic racism that has plagued our country since its earliest days,” she wrote in an essay for Cosmopolitan. “It is the duty of every American to fix. No longer can some wait on the sidelines, hoping for incremental change.”
On racial health disparities
“There is no vaccine for racism.”
This is one of the most piercing of Kamala Harris’s quotes. Throughout her career, she has addressed the topic of racial discrimination, summed up in this anti-racism remark from her speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. In this instance, she used the example of how the COVID-19 virus disproportionately affected Black, Latino and Indigenous people. “This is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism,” she said. “This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other—and how we treat each other. We’ve gotta do the work to fulfill that promise of equal justice under law.” Echoing 19th-century Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus, Harris continued, “Because none of us are free until all of us are free.”
On our connected society
“Every issue is a Black woman’s issue. And Black women’s issues are everyone’s issues.”
During her Spelman College lecture, she pushed back against the idea that she could speak only to “Black women’s issues,” noting that while there are things that affect the Black community more than others, those issues don’t exist in a vacuum. “I am often in a room where a reporter or someone else will come up to me, and they’ll say, ‘So talk to us about Black women’s issues.’ And I’ll look at them and think, You know what? I am so glad you want to talk about the economy,” she said. “Or sometimes say, ‘I am so glad you want to talk about national security.'”
On women’s rights
“When you lift up women, you lift up families, you lift up communities, you lift up economies—and you lift up America.”
Like Michelle Obama, Harris has been a champion for women in the workplace and at home for years. In a 2017 speech at the National Partnership for Women and Families, she stressed how women’s equality and policies that help families benefit everyone. “To tackle the challenges of the 21st century, we must empower women and families,” she said. “If we do not lift up women and families, everyone will fall short. And that means rejecting the false choice presented by our politics that you have to choose between caring about economic issues or caring about ‘women’s issues.’ You cannot separate them. They’re inextricably linked.”
On patriotism
“A patriot is not someone who condones the conduct of our country whatever it does. It is someone who fights every day for the ideals of the country, whatever it takes.”
These inspiring thoughts from Kamala Harris, published in her memoir, The Truths We Hold, reflect her passion for aspiring to the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The patriotic quotes in her book reveal her commitment to a more perfect union—one she hopes all Americans will strive for. “We have so much more in common than what separates us,” she wrote. “We need to paint a picture of the future in which everyone can see themselves, and everyone is seen. A vibrant portrait of a vibrant United States, where everyone is treated with equal dignity and each of us has the opportunities to make the most of our own lives. That is the vision worth fighting for, born out of love of country.”
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite quotes for over 100 years. The sayings and quips that appear in the magazine’s “Quotable Quotes” (formerly “Remarkable Remarks”) are curated from interviews and essays originally published in the magazine, reprints from trusted titles and other verified sources. For this piece, Tina Donvito tapped her experience as a longtime journalist to ensure that all information is accurate. We’ve gone the extra step to verify that all quotes are attributed correctly and have credible sourcing. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- The New York Times: “Full Transcript of Kamala Harris’s Democratic Convention Speech”
- The White House: “Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Reception”
- ABC News: “READ: Harris-Trump presidential debate transcript”
- The White House: “Remarks by Vice President Harris at Swearing-In Ceremony of Commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics”
- The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
- CNN: “Kamala Harris takes aim at Trump in first campaign speech”
- The New York Times: “Kamala Harris Accepts Vice-Presidential Nomination: Full Transcript”
- PBS NewsHour: “WATCH: The full 2020 vice presidential debate”
- Marie Claire: “One of These Women Could Be Our Next President”
- Spelman College: “Senator Kamala D. Harris Visits Spelman”
- @KamalaHarris: “You Asked, I Answered”
- Kamala Harris: “Aug. 13, 2020 Facebook post”
- CNN: “Kamala Harris’ rise sends message of hope to young girls of color”
- PBS News: “Read Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ full victory speech”
- Cosmopolitan: “Kamala Harris: ‘To Be Silent Is to Be Complicit'”
- National Partnership for Women and Families: “2017 Gala Dinner”
