institute for studies in washington, d.c. abou30 minutes. [applause] ♪ jimmy: thank you, alic mother and vice president, welcome to the apaics leadership summit! vp harris: and happy 30th anrs [applause] jimmy, before we get started, we

have about alicia. jimmy: she is amazing. vp harris: credle ion a real leaders. there are many members of congress hereen going up to the hill to talk about how we can coordinate all the work we're doing leaders , they have so many talents as they are so courageous, and she is an incredibleaniz among the young people in my office. but around issues that we really need to focus on things we care about the future of our country. hework?please applaud al f please. [applause] really, she's wonderful. hi, jimmy. jimmy: hello. how are yo good seeing you. i have no idea why you guys called me to do this. [applause] lisa lang must have been not available, you know, went down to list. connie chung not available.[lgh] now here i am. but it's an absolute honor to be here with you and alle

amazing leaders. i have been listening to a lot of talksit's a lot of firsts. it's a middle groundbreaking trailblazers of our community. and of course, you are the first aahpi vice president of the united states. wh dthe first. and how has your heritvolved yor roles as leader? vp harris: said, my mother gave my sister and me a lot of advice, and a lot of the things she said to be that of had a lasting impact, she said, you may be the first many things. make sure you are not the first. my mother wasyearold when she arrived in the united states by herself. she was the eldes mgrdparent fo.

e was part of one of the first waves of indians to come in relatively modern history to the un states in the 50's. right, so anybodyf soh asian background, you will know that this was early,rly. there weren't many indian americans were indians who had come in at thain -- asian acas who had come in the point. and my mother said to her moth when she was young that she wanted to cure cancer. what i learned later it was that she secretly applied to uc el, and she got accepted. so she went to my grandfather and said i want and my grandfather was very progressive. el note in asian culture was that means. he fst grandchild too, i will say. [laughter] and my grandfather said, go. so she arrived in the united states by herself because she

had a passion and she had a go. and she basically, her life was committed to two things, raising her two daugding breast cancer. and my grandfather was probably one of the favorite people in my life, especially during my childhood. we were penpals. so any of you of my generation, you remember thi blue envelopes with all the stripes on them, you know,ou could send back-and-forth, and you would have to open them with a letter■é opener and unfold it? my [laughter] [laughter] grandpa and i were penpals and we would go back to india, sometime between october and december, around the christmas holiday usually. and i at the eldest grandchild, had the honor of being invaded by my grandfather to take his morning wk ired

buddies. and they would every morning gather, these, you know, old men who were very smart and very knowledgbl take their walk. and i would hold my grandfather'was the one who was able to go on thewithim. and my grandfather and his friends would passionately debate the importance of democracy. and a government that treated people equally and with fairness , and a government that was not corrupt. and that influenced my life in more ways than i could ever explain. even though i didn't really good at the time. and had an impact than on what iec with my life. my mother, which he arrived in the states, she grandfather was and about the

fight for independence in india, my mother then, you might not know thisn retrospect, it took to the streets too much forcible rape in her she took to the stro much for civil-rights in her saand that's how she met my fa and all of that has had a profound influence. i will also add to this about being the first, because there are so many firsts here. d many who we who are the 1st to have decided we will mentor you and we will support you and we will remind you of what it involves. you have an incredible community of people that are encouraging them. e ing about breaking barriers. breaking barriers does not mean u side of the barrier and you end up on the others. there is breaking involved. when you break things, you get cut.

you may bleed, but it is worth it every time. ery me. and so, to, especially the young people here, i will say to you, when you walk into those rooms being the only one that looks like it, the only one with your background, you walk in those rooms chin up, shoulders back, be it a meeting room a courtroom, a hearing room, you walk in those rooms knowing that we are all a that room with applauding you on and expecting certain including that you will not be silent in those rooms. and that we expect that from you, because we also expect thuw that we were and so your voice can be strong. it is as alicia said, my mother would to me, don't ever let

anybody tell you who you are, you tell them we are. don't ever carry as a personal burden your capacity to do whatever you dream and aspire to do it on other people's limited ility to see who can do what. is ipart of what is involved. is we have to know that sometimel op the door for you and leave it open, and sometimes they won't. and that you need to "kick the [expletive] door down." [laughter] excuse my language. [laughter] jimmy: we have to make t-shirts with that saying "kick the or down." i mean, i literally just got emotional listening to that. i think all of us in this room have that experience. ke me as an actor, you know, whether you're

in political office or any job you walk into, often times we are the only asian person there. and how to navigate that. for me, it is always, understand, i am fortunate to be here, thank you for opening the door, buit never, like, i try not to blame it on anything. like if i miss an addition or whatever. i just got to be a better acr.fi just got to be better than everyone else so i will not be the last. vp harris: that's right. it is very much a part of asian culture. that we are taught duty. jimmy: jimmy: yes. vp harris: duty, it's not about whether you have the luxury or the will. if your responsibility. it's your duty and we don't

question it. it just is. and part of that is the duty that we feel when we are the first in particular, to understand what that means to people who are not us, meaning everyone else. lot culturally about the fact that it's not about us. it's about family. it'ab community. about country, values. someone described it to me as, if you think of that culture -- i am oversimplifying, obviously, but think of an onion. indiviis corof the onion. then there is a family and there is a community and it is and there is and all those things are bigger and that is pof are k in many ways, which sometimes leads to probably a willingness to minimize the importance of

the individual. to b careful about that. but duty is an imptant part of it from a two point. jimmy: i think what you said earlier, just being raised by immigrants, i think, gives us atective and gratefulness to be here in a great democracy because that ten for granted, especially in a lot of other places in the world. vprithat's right. jimmy: which actually leads me to my second question, i actually prepped -- [laughter] vp harri here is the thing, while are pulling out whatever is coming out of your pockets. [laughter] i willout lived experience. that also taught me that you have to fight right for everybody. and you have to be in the fight. you can't sit it out. right? that is certainly how i was you can't sit it out.

because you know how inequity happens. yo happens when systems create displaced power, or when systems are suppressing the rites of other people. ha how i was raised as well. jimmy: and i think we have seen history, since the dobbs decision, a lot of our rights are under attack. what we take for granted as basic rites. ve led the charge on protecting reproductive freedom for this administration and we ththat so, what hearing from americans as you talk about protecting reproductive freedom? and how has it been to fight on restoring roe v. wade? vpar so, again, i look at heact that --

you know, i never met his business at one of the mentors that i chose, was thurgood marshall, who understood the ssion from the streets to the courtrooms of america. america.real the pse when i think about the dogs decision, which was just about two years ago, the highest court in our land, the court of thurgood and r.b.g., just took a constitutional right that had beecm thpeople in america, from the people of america, and taf state after state laws are being , proposed and passed that will criminalize health care providers, punish women. some make no exception even for rape or incest. so there is about this issue,

the fact that ovast o years, the way has played out has resulted in real and profound harm to real people on a daily basis. you have all heard the stories gs to the emergency room as she's experiencing a miscarriage and denied care because the the physicians are afraid they will be jd. goes back, still denied. it wasn't until she develops sepsis that she is treated. horrendous stories. and these are only the stories know about. many people silently suffering. there harm, of this that is profound and real. also the fact that now, in 2024 decision has been made , a that takes from the amer people a fundamental freedom to make decisions about one's own body. think about what that is taking us back to. that one does not have the right

to exercise authority over issues that i call heart and home. issues that are fundamental to what should be a right to decide to start a family or not. and where does this go? because for the lawyers in the room and was interested reading supreme court decisions, [laughs] claren thomas said the quiet part out loud. other right it may be very much at stake. when you start to see some profusion of rights, where does it and if people don't stand up? demographically, the last numbers i saw, 80 percent of the aanhpi community is in favor of choice. and, again, because it's a simple point which i often make, for many people, one does not

have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that government should not be e will make that decision based on her ality to actually exercise good judgment. and can y supposing their jume tha the ability of that individual woman to know what is best interest? it is profound. layers of what is involved here. jimmy: and another very important issue is gunsn our country. vp harris: yes. jimmy: president biden tapped you to oversee the first ever housthan violence prevention task force. what istration doing to address gun violence in our communities? vp harris: let's start with the very tragic fact that gun

violence is the leading cause of death for children in america. not carcancer, than violence. number one cause of death for children in america right.1 in y member who has been killed by gun violence. as i traveled the country, i talk with mothers and fathers who say a silent, may be necessary praye mbeot so silentt when be drop their kids to schools or to the school bus, that they will come home safe. i started a polished well last e ge z. again, i just have to i really do. have a gen z member in your family. they are so spectacular. [laughter] they think about, first of all, the fact that this might be humbling for some, somebody who

s today was born in 2006. i knew it was goingbehung. [laughter] and -- i knew it w g humbling. [laughter] and for gen z, they have only knownrisis. they have coined the term climate anxiety to describe their fear ofing hildren or aspiring to buy a home for fear it will be w o weather. they have witnessed the killing of george floyd. they left fundamental phases of the education during the pandemic and socialization. in the height of their od, th saw the court take this right and and i would ask this question when i did my college tour every time , by the way. i mean hacksiums. often overflowing rooms. they were standing in line for hours in so cases, not for a

rock concert, but to literally witness somethinli this. i would ask that we can, raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade you had to endure and active-shooter drill. almost hand went up. and i would ask the press, please take a look at this. i would ask the students keep your hands up. i woulk der adults. it is bone chilling all of that to say that when i believehaat has been a false choice that has been perpetu, this town, that suggests you are either in favor of the seendmt,e everyone's guns away. i am in favor of the second amendment and i believe we need an assault weapons ban. would need universal background checks. we need red flag laws. [applause] right? and given how our y leaders have experienced this -- i mean, growing up in california, the closesinton active

shooter drill was an earthquake drill or a fire drill. and by the way, fire drills happen like consistently and thankfully we rarely see any fire in a school. then vlence -- very different --nce, very different issue. when our young leaders leaders start voting in their numbers on so many of these issues i sea change in terms of how we address this, because of our young leaders in particular are very practical and they went to see things done. and what i love about them is that they will not refer us to figure it out. they are going to do it. they are going to do it. jimmy: thank you, madam president. that was great. ese are two very tough issues, subjects, and hopefully we can see more hope and inspiration, from not just us, not you, for the younger generation. vp harris: and on the subject, we know that it visits itself

from the asian community across the country. whether it be atlanta -- the president and i went down after those horrific killings of the young women there, monterey park, judy chuaseen an extraordinary leader for her constituents. nter park and the families. not to mention, not only has itf visited itself upon asian communities, but y1m■7 c with the anti-asian hate that has been spewed, especially in recent years, the fear is everywhere, including, of course,'s in the asian community. jimmy: absolutely. and we have great leaders that have done grhingfor our community. with my last question, i want to look intoe little bit. you have done a lot with the leaders here■ to protect our freedom, to create opportunity and to ngcy, like we have talked about. how are you thinking about the

work ahead, and what can we do as a community to strengthen our future together? vp harris: so the first thing to know our per. i think it is critically important tsilence your voice. and to know that it is not about asking permission to speak. one needn't and shouldn't ittheg us of the country. not to mention this, iean, i have now as vice president met over 150 world leaders, presidents, v chancellors and kings. ultie times. the last three international trips i took, the end of last year and the beginning of last year, dubai, and represented the

united states at the cop28, the global cte i went to the u.k., rishi sunak invited me to come and speak my theories about safety that we need in ai.and then this year, h security conference where i spoke abomeposion as it relates to many global almost to a one, i have met these leaders multiple times and we are almost all know -- we are at a first name basis. they came up to nd said i hope you guys are g all right in the selection. understand the power that we have right now must own an exer, will have an impact on people in ou own country and people around the world. people around the world will be

impacted. we as the united s rooms arounde globe with the self appointed and earned authority to talk about the importance of democracy and rule of law. i say to a room full of role models, when your role model, watch what you do. see if it matches what you say. i imagine some young women fighting for the right to be and an autocrat saying you want to talk about the rights of women look at what the united states is doing so right now in particular i say thathist what is going to happen in the next 170 somethingeverne has tod demand that you be heard. remind our familiend our friends and our community of their right and responsibility and duty, dare i say to answer

a fundamental question at this point,hatrdo we want to live in? as much as anything, that is what is before us. and i will end my point, again, with great. based on everything i described abou who our young leaders are, but also what i know this group of leaders to be, we are parents , ourhildren, our grandparents. we here believe in the farmer america. we believe in the promise of america. and this then becomes a moment where that belief has to spur us into action, knowing that we can determine its future. thats oupower. that is our power. esident. one more time. [applause] vp harris: thank you. was uly amazing. [applause]

♪ jimmy: this is going to be fun! let'ge a selfi together. [laughter] [applause] vp harris: everybody smile. [laughter] ■"jimmy: thank you. ♪ [applause]

>> c-span, howard