Kamala, The Motherland, and Me

Access photos of Vice President Kamala Harris and Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey at THIS LINK.

1. Will you share with us what inspired you to write Kamala, The Motherland, and Me and what message you hope readers will take away from it?

2. Your book covers Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to Africa and your personal experiences accompanying her. What were some of the most memorable moments from your journey, and how did they shape your perspective on the Vice President and the continent of Africa?

3. In your memoir, you discuss challenging assumptions about Vice President Harris, Africa, and the intersections of identity. What specific assumptions do you hope to challenge, and why do you believe it's important for readers to reassess these perceptions?

4. As a political journalist and advocate, how do you see Vice President Harris's leadership impacting the relationship between the United States and African nations? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in this regard?

5. Your book delves into topics such as human rights, female empowerment, and media representation. How do these themes intersect with Vice President Harris's visit to Africa, and what insights do you offer on addressing these issues?

6. Throughout your journey, you reflect on your identity as a Ghanaian-American gay man raised by parents from different cultural backgrounds. How did your personal experiences inform your observations during Vice President Harris's visit, and what role do you believe personal narratives play in shaping political discourse?

7. Your memoir discusses the importance of inclusivity and understanding in today's society. How do you envision Kamala, The Motherland, and Me contributing to broader conversations about diversity, equity, and social justice?

8. Can you speak to the significance of Vice President Harris's visit to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, particularly in the context of addressing pressing global challenges such as human rights violations, gender disparities, and climate change?

9. In your book, you challenge readers to confront assumptions and embrace diversity. How do you believe individuals and communities can actively work towards building a more inclusive and equitable world, both domestically and internationally?

10. Finally, what do you hope readers, particularly those from African diaspora communities, will gain from reading Kamala, The Motherland, and Me, and how do you see your book contributing to ongoing dialogues about representation, identity, and progress?

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey is a political journalist, Pepperdine University professor and prominent convener in the fields of dialogue and social change. Born into a Ghanaian-American family, Dr. Quartey holds a doctoral degree in organizational leadership and a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship and change from Pepperdine University. He also holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in critical approaches to leadership from University of Southern California. Throughout his career, he has been featured on various media outlets, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, MSNBC, CNN, NewsNation, SiriusXM, TheGrio and as a daily news anchor for FOX Broadcasting and FOX SOUL. He currently serves as Host of A More Perfect Union radio talk show and podcast produced by KBLA Talk 1580, owned and operated by Tavis Smiley.

Before returning to his passion for political journalism, for over a decade Dr. Quartey had been actively engaged in policy advocacy efforts on issues ranging from civil and human rights to childhood obesity to senior issues. These experiences have been foundational to Dr. Quartey’s distinctive approach to political journalism where he aspires to humanize leaders, listens for teachable moments, cautionary tales, and challenges underlying assumptions.

After the Vice President’s historic trip to Africa was grossly under-covered by American media, we are fortunate to have someone with deep roots to the continent and extensive relationships with and around the Vice President to commit his first-hand account of the trip to the pages of history. The inadequate coverage of the Vice President's historic trip to Africa often centered on where she went, who she met, or what she wore. Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey offers to the pages of history the important answers to “Why?”—why the first Black VP went to Africa, why it matters to the people of the African diaspora, and why the world should understand how this VP is influencing foreign policy more than any Black woman in history. - Terrance Woodbury, HIT Strategies Co-Founder and Public Opinion Researcher

…In his new book, Kamala, The Motherland, and Me, Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey brings me back to the memories of that trip with his own distinctive story and takes us on a new journey across continents, consciousness, time, and identity. By sharing his experiences from Nelson Mandela’s visit to Oakland, California in the 1990s to Kamala Harris’s trip to Accra, Ghana in 2023, Quartey builds a beautiful symbolic bridge that spans 8,000 miles of land and sea across the African diaspora. Dr. Quartey is a prominent national journalist and an intersectional community leader who unapologetically introduces his own identity as a Black gay man of Ghanaian descent to the international discourse at a moment when too many voices are being silenced and the world urgently needs to hear from credible Black thought leaders. This is a timely and important book that I hope will open eyes, minds, and hearts. - Keith Boykin, Author and Political Commentator

Kamala, The Motherland, and Me cements Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey's reputation as one of our community's most inspiring storytellers. Bringing forward a story of our nation's first Black Women Vice President’s trip to Tanzania, Zambia, and Ghana—his father’s homeland—Quartey takes readers on a detailed journey from Air Force Two to parts of the continent of Africa that have never been visited by a sitting Vice President. Painting a compelling, detailed, and often unseen side of Vice President Kamala Harris, this book belongs on every American history buff's bookshelf. - Richard Fowler, FOX News Contributor and Forbes Contributing Writer

In a way that only he can, Dr. Quartey takes us on a journey of self-discovery across Africa, while covering one of the most consequential (and misunderstood) figures in American history—Vice President Kamala Harris. A fresh take that is all heart. This book is a triumph. - Hon. Malcolm Kenyatta, Pennsylvania State Representative, 181st District

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey provides an up-close look not many Americans have seen of our history-making Vice President, while setting the scene on a broader level of what role America should play on the world stage. It also serves as a vivid introduction to Dr. Quartey's unique expertise, which I'm excited to have introduced nationwide through this important read for aspiring journalists and public servants alike. - Hon. Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles and Former Chair of Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey approaches all his work with a fervor for the topic, a respect for the reader, and a historical mindset of the person he's covering. This book is no different. Kamala Harris's trip to Africa served as a turning point in her vice presidency and there's no one better suited to tell that story than Dr. Quartey. - Eugene Daniels, Politico White House Reporter, Playbook Co-Author, and Incoming President of White House Correspondents’ Association

I loved the way in which Dr. Nii-Quartelai unfolded this narrative that Black America has been waiting for! This behind-the-scenes look connects insider information/experiences to the external agendas facing our nation's first Black Vice President and changed the way that I see the White House. Black leadership matters, and this book helped me to understand that the intentional attacks faced by Kamala Harris are the common challenges faced by so many of us coming from communities of color, fighting to make a difference in public service, while remaining committed to cultural competence. -Paul Henderson, Veteran Prosecutor and Executive Director of San Francisco Department of Police Accountability

More than adequately told, Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey shares the untold story of a history-making United States Vice President. Instructive, informative, insightful–a necessary read to better understand Kamala Harris.” - Tavis Smiley, Host of The Tavis Smiley Show