Harris at Rainbow PUSH: A Toyota Corolla, a 'Jesse Jackson for President' Bumper Sticker and 'Unburdened by What Has Been' (July 16, 2023)

Vice President Kamala Harris came to Chicago to honor the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and she brought a story about her old car. “So, when I was in law school, I was back in California after I left Howard, and I drove a Toyota Corolla. (Laughter.) It was a fancy car for me. (Laughter.) And I had a bumper sticker in the back window: ‘Jesse Jackson for President,’” Harris said, according to the official White House transcript [1].

“And I would drive across the Bay Bridge, if anybody knows the Bay Area,” she said. “I was so struck and impressed when the first time that I did that drive with that bumper sticker, the number of truck drivers and people in other cars who would honk their horn or throw a thumbs-up sign, people of every walk of life.” [1]

“Those folks, I believe they were honking and throwing a thumbs-up in favor of fighting for freedom and for opportunity,” Harris said [1].

The video above shows Harris at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition convention on July 16, 2023. Quotes are from the official White House transcript [1].

”Unburdened by What Has Been”

Harris praised Jackson’s coalition in her signature style. “And it is with this understanding, this vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been, that Rev has dedicated his life to building that coalition, from Washington, D.C., to California; from the Mississippi Delta to Appalachia; from South Africa to the South Side of Chicago,” she said [1].

She recounted his campaigns. “Powered by his vision and the coalition that believed in it, Re- — Rev ran for president in 1984, and again in 1988, winning 13 primaries, from South Carolina to Alaska,” Harris said [1].

“Early on, he even had the audacity to name this coalition the National Rainbow Coalition. (Applause.) Think about that. He defined the rainbow. He was one of the first to define the rainbow,” Harris said [1].

She added a thought about time. “And he has done this work his whole life, always understanding that being clear-eyed is so important and, in particular, the importance of living in a way that we understand we must be present if we are to have a future,” Harris said [1].

”Apostolitic [Apostolic]”

The White House transcript needed a fix in her thank-yous. “I want to thank Dr. Byron Brazier and First Lady for the warm welcome here — (applause) — at Apostolitic [Apostolic] Church of God,” Harris said. The bracketed correction is in the official text [1].

She also congratulated Jackson on stepping down. “So, we congratulate you, Rev, on your pivot. (Laughs.) (Applause.) I got the memo. (Laughs.)” [1]

“Joe Biden and I Went to the White House”

Harris opened by praising Jackson’s son, Rep. Jonathan Jackson. “I said to the Congressman: I didn’t know he could preach like that,” she said [1].

She credited the Rainbow coalition for her own rise. “And then in 2020, we worked together with folks across our country to mobilize that same coalition to organize and to register voters. And as a result, Joe Biden and I went to the White House,” Harris said [1].

She recalled her prosecutor years. “As Attorney General of California, I worked with him on consumer protection issues, and in particular, because I took on and sued the big banks of the United States during the foreclosure crisis, and Rev was right there with his leadership,” Harris said [1].

“And as President Biden said today, Rev: You are a man of God, and you are a man of the people,” she said [1].

”In the Year of Our Lord 2023”

Harris returned to a favorite line. “State by state across our nation, these extremists banned books, in the year of our Lord 2023,” she said [1].

She went after the Supreme Court. “These extremists wrote legislation and brought litigation to the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood — (applause) — in 2013 in Shelby v. Holder to destroy hard-fought, hard-won rights,” Harris said [1]. “And last month, the Court cut off access to opportunity when they gutted affirmative action and student debt relief,” Harris said [1].

“So, let us stand together, united and strong, knowing as Rev has always understood: We refuse to throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves,” Harris said [1].

She closed with Scripture. “And as we know from Romans Chapter 5, Verse 5, ‘Hope does not disappoint us,’” Harris said. “Let us keep hope alive.” [1]

By the Numbers

13: primaries Harris said Jackson won in 1984 and 1988 [1].
20+ years: how long Harris said she had worked with the Rev. Freddy Haynes [1].
19 minutes: her remarks, 3:00 to 3:19 p.m. [1].
226-312: Harris’ Electoral College loss to Donald Trump in 2024 [2].

What Happened Next

The ticket fell apart. On July 21, 2024, Biden wrote that “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down” [3]. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, 312 electoral votes to 226, according to the National Archives [2].

For Harris’s “book bans” line in North Carolina three weeks earlier, see HYGO News’ page on Charlotte. For the same line in Florida days later, see the page on Jacksonville.