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By Eliza Gano Maya Harris comes to work every day and is inspired. “My
colleagues, the courage and conviction of the community members we work
with and the unfinished business of achieving equal justice under [the]
law inspires me,” says Harris, 39.The Bay Area native assumed the role
of executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern
California, the nation’s largest ACLU affiliate, in October 2006. She
succeeded Dorothy M. Ehrlich, who was executive director of the nearly
55,000-member organization for more than 25 years.
“Maya
Harris is an extraordinary leader with a deep commitment to the
critical work of the ACLU,” says Ehrlich. “I cannot imagine a more
capable advocate to lead the ACLU-NC at a time when we are confronting
the most serious assault on civil liberties of our generation.”  Harris
first joined the ACLU-NC in 2003 as director of the affiliate’s Racial
Justice Project. Her work encompassed eliminating racial disparities in
the criminal justice system and achieving educational equity in
California public schools. She has also worked to abolish California’s
“three strikes” law and has led campaign efforts opposing Propositions
54 (an initiative that would not allow California public agencies to
obtain information on race, ethnicity and national origin) and 69
(required collection of DNA samples from all felons and from adults and
juveniles arrested for or charged with specified crimes and submission
to a state DNA database).
In 2005, she became associate director,
developing and implementing the ACLU’s priority campaigns and
overseeing the Policy Department, including work in the areas of racial
justice, police practices and the death penalty. A photo of two
of her heroes hangs on the wall of her Drumm Street office in San
Francisco. The photo depicts Rosa Parks, a black segregation protester,
with Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American who challenged internment
during World War II.
“They both endured and triumphed over some
of the darkest days in our collective history,” Harris says. “They
remind me that our work is never done and instill that spirit of
resolve that makes you never give up, even in moments of defeat.
”Prior
to joining the ACLU, Harris was a senior associate at Oakland’s
PolicyLink, a social and economic equity lobby group. She also authored
national publications such as “Community-Centered Policing: A Force For
Change” and “Organized for Change: The Activist’s Guide to Police
Reform.”
Before PolicyLink, Harris was dean at Lincoln Law
School of San Jose. At the time of her appointment in July 1996, the
National Law Journal reported that, “at age 29, she is perhaps the
youngest law school dean in the country.” Harris’s own law
degree is from Stanford Law School, where she served as associate
editor of the “Stanford Law Review” and was active with the East Palo
Alto Community Law Project, which provided legal aid to low-income
individuals. She did all this while also raising her daughter, Meena,
who was 4 at the time. The daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican
father, Harris was named for Lakshmi, the Indian goddess of beauty and
wealth. And balancing the scales of justice is a passion she shares
with her older sister Kamala, who is San Francisco’s district attorney.
Prosecutors and civil liberties advocates are sure to become potential
sparring partners, but Harris says she realizes both sides are
entrusted to uphold the law. And on receiving advice about her
job from her sister, Harris says that happens “only when we
agree. And, if we disagree, I give her advice!”
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How
do you feel about achieving two “firsts” – the first South Asian to
head an ACLU affiliate anywhere and the first African American to be
executive director of the ACLU-NC?
It’s amazing to me that
we still have so many “firsts” in this day and age. I think it
illustrates how, while we’ve made much progress, we still have much
work to do. My mom always told me, “You may have lots of firsts in
life, but make sure you’re not the last.”
 What does it mean for you to be part of the ACLU?
I
can’t tell you how amazing it is to be part of an organization where
you can get up in the morning and read something in the newspaper
that’s unconscionable, and then come to work and actually do something
about it! The ACLU is an exhilarating, fast-moving organization with
extremely talented and deeply committed staff – I feel so privileged to
work here.
As executive director, what are your goals for the organization?
Ensuring
that we continue to be a leader in the fight for civil rights and civil
liberties for all Californians and that we spread our advocacy
resources throughout the region to places with serious civil liberties
challenges, but often few resources and advocates.
What are the challenges?
Since
Sept. 11, we’ve seen an unprecedented assault on civil liberties. These
issues are critical priorities for the ACLU and will remain so until we
restore our lost liberties. We’re making progress, but these are
challenging issues to address given the climate of fear. We can
preserve our freedoms even as we promote national security.
What do you see as being the most important issues facing women and minorities today?
Our
racial justice work is wide ranging, from voting rights to racial
profiling. We have as key priorities eliminating racial bias in the
criminal justice system and achieving educational equity in California
public schools. As a society, it both saddens and outrages me at the
extent to which we over-invest in the criminal justice system and
under-invest in public education. We need to reverse our priorities on
this front.
What are some of the organization’s priority campaigns?
In
addition to our racial justice work, with ACLU-sponsored bills on
privacy, criminal justice, sex education and employment discrimination
vetoed by the governor during the last legislative session, we’re back
in Sacramento this year fighting for these and other crucial reforms.
We are also continuing vigorous advocacy on issues such as government
surveillance, reproductive rights, marriage equality, freedom of speech
and religion and youth rights. What are your thoughts on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on upholding the ban on partial-birth abortion?
It
was a devastating blow to women’s health and the right to reproductive
freedom. The opinion also removed any doubt about where this Supreme
Court is headed on abortion rights – which, in some ways, is a wake-up
call for my generation, which doesn’t know a world without Roe v. Wade.
Your parents were active in the civil rights movement of the 60s. What was that like for you while growing up?
It defined who we (my sister and I) are, and what we believe about right and wrong and justice and fairness.
They say a woman’s purse reflects her daily life. If we snuck a peek inside your purse, what would we find?
Too much! But always the essentials: my BlackBerry, lipgloss and today’s newspaper.
What is your proudest moment so far?
I’m
most proud of my daughter, Meena. She just graduated from college and
has grown into a smart, thoughtful, funny, engaging young woman—nothing
tops that!
What is the best advice you ever received?
From my mom: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” |
