I met Kamala four
years before she became
the District Attorney of San Francisco.
She asked me to come work with her,
understanding that the
criminal justice system,
in her own words, "was
broken to its core,"
and she wanted advocates
to come in and help her
reshape an institution
that had been around
literally since the end of the Civil War,
and that had never prioritized healing,
that had never prioritized reentry.
She said, "Lateefah, we could
be outside with a bullhorn
every single day demanding
that the system change,
or we can step inside of these doors
and get this thing right.
It may not happen in our
lifetime, but if we don't try,
we're complicit in the
evils of this system."
We created Back on Track together.
The core of Back on Track
was to provide opportunities
for young people involved in
the criminal justice system,
to get them out for good.
I'd never seen a DA that committed,
who really sees the humanity
of folks who are struggling the most,
that victims and offenders alike
often have the same story,
often are the same people.
And the work that we did,
and walking hundreds of
black and brown young people
out of jail cells every
morning, asking them,
"Will you go into a program
designed by this here
district attorney,
where if you wanna work,
if you want housing,
if you want childcare,
she will drop your case?"
15 years ago, that was revolutionary.
And she has set the stage
for progressive prosecutors
all over the country to think
differently about safety
and what smart justice
can really look like.
I mean, I want that
person to be my president!
(uplifting music)
