Persist

What kind of vice president would I want—someone like Mike Pence, who looks adoringly at Donald Trump whenever he speaks? (I already have a dog.)

Whether the future looks scary or bright, plans are hopes made practical. They reassure people that there's a roadmap that will take them to a better place and they give people a reason to join in the effort to get there.

It’s frequently argued that plenty of good people work in criminal justice.

Officer Rose was the president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association at the time, and he was furious.

Whatever goes into any individual woman's decision, I can't know. But I don't need to know. I believe in that woman's ability to make the choice, no matter how difficult. To me, this is about respect: it is not my place or anyone's to tell a woman what choice she should make. It's also true that I cannot imagine forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy against her will. And by the way, I cannot imagine that men—male judges and legislators, male governors and presidents—would permit women to pass laws that would determine something very specific about men's bodies.

He glanced at the book in my lap and asked what it was. I said, "Tax law." He asked why I was reading a tax law book. With a quick grin I said, "I'm in law school." He tilted his head and gave me a quizzical look. "Law school? Is your husband a lawyer?" I tilted my head back at him. "No," I said. "Is your wife an orthodontist?" Now he was really confused. "No. Why would you think that?" "I don't know," I said. "Why would you think my husband is a lawyer?

It's a tough world out there. And when the stakes are high, the rich and powerful aren't going to give up even a fraction of their riches or their power just to be nice. If we want to create more opportunities for our children, if we want to save our planet, if we want to narrow income inequality, if we want to reduce racial injustice—if we want any or all of these things, we will have to fight for them. Because no one is going to give up anything without a fight.

When I was running for president, I often wondered why other candidates didn't have detailed plans for the future. It seems so obvious to me that plans are critical to our well-being. Maybe the more puzzling question is why people running for office so rarely campaign on plans—and why that's apparently okay with millions of voters.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of racism, today the fundamental idea of race neutrality continues to claim an elevated status in law. The consequence, Professor Ibram Kendi observes, is that these legal battles "ended up principally outlawing 'intention to discriminate'" so that "[i]ntent--not outcome--became the preferred proof of discrimination." Kendi argues that the focus on state of mind (intent to discriminate) rather than the effect of specific actions (discriminatory impact) undermines the push for equality.

Claims such as "I'm not a racist" or "so-and-so is not a racist" may sound harmless to some, but to many they cut deep. Familiar denials like these so often seem to be the justification for a second, unspoken part to that sentence: "and therefore I don't have to do anything about racism." And that's the part that is just plain wrong.

It's frequently pointed out that plenty of good people work in criminal justice. That's true, but it's also beside the point. Racist policing isn't a problem caused by one bad apple or even a dozen bad apples. It's a structural problem. Its a problem that begins with persistent racism in our country, which in turn feeds the way we approach criminal justice. It's a broken system, and eliminating a few bad apples won't fix it.

You can't fix a problem you can't see. Simply saying that the laws (or the economy, or the rules that govern policing, or anything else) are racially blind doesn't mean that reality is racially blind. To attack problems head-on--to be anti-racist--begins with asking questions about race.

If all this seems too tough, then the solution is simple: don't run for office. The American people should never have to worry about whether the decisions made by public officials are driven by public interest or by their own personal finance interest.

And early on I learned that no one gives you anything for free. If you really care about something, if you really want something, you have to fight for it.

Plans are the essential means by which we chart a course for our collective future.