Meena Harris, a lawyer, activist, and the founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, is the niece of Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris. Meena, 35, tells Grazia about the effect growing up with powerful women around her has had on her life...
I often joke that growing up in my family was like the opening scene of the Wonder Woman movie, where a community of strong, brilliant women ran around helping each other succeed, and basically saved the world together. That’s truly all I knew as a kid; strong, powerful women was my worldview.
I learned at a young age what activism looks like, and what it can achieve. Just like my mom [Maya Harris] and aunt [Kamala Harris], I was brought along to protests and rallies, and social justice issues were frequently discussed at our dinner table. My grandmother [Shyamala Harris], in particular, was no stranger to protests, but she was also a great example of living out everyday acts of resistance. She taught my mom and aunt, and later me, that you should always try to make an impact, wherever you are, however you can—big or small.
In doing so, she also taught us a key lesson that has now become the central line of my kids’ book, Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea: “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
The book is actually based on a true story from the childhood of my mom and my aunt. Growing up, when they encountered something that was unfair or unjust, my grandma would say to them, “So what are you going to do about it?”
While I think we may be slightly different from other families, I believe that any family can be an activist or social justice family. My grandma was an ordinary person, but she was also a civil rights activist and instilled in all of us the idea of 'everyday activism.'
Women’s voices have always been important -- we’re on the frontlines of social movements. And when crisis hits, women—especially women of color—are often hit first and hardest. We’re seeing that right now, whether it’s women becoming the most essential workers in America, or weathering a global pandemic that is throwing women’s career advancement into uncertainty. And just as we always have, women are organizing, mobilizing, and acting to protect themselves and everyone else.
I was raised to be and think like an activist and an organizer, like the women in my family who came before me. And like many others, I was inspired by President Obama’s call to service for young people. We can all make a difference, no matter who you are, where you come from, or how old you are.
Especially for women of colour, the personal is political. Our right to bodily autonomy, to access reproductive healthcare, to be paid equally, and be free from sexual harassment in the workplace (just to name a few), have long been determined by rooms full of old, white men. Women understand how deeply connected our lives are to the 'political landscape' and how interconnected we all are. With this pandemic, many have learned that the hard way. The only way out of this pandemic is by working together and doing your part; our fate rests in each other's hands. More and more folks are finally awakening to this fact, and women—as always—are leading the way.
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