The list of words that can be used to describe Meena Harris is extensive - activist, entrepreneur, media mogul, former tech executive, lawyer, venture capitalist, and New York Times best-selling author, to name a few. Some may also refer to the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris as “ambitious,” a term she views as something to be proud of despite the fact that it’s been used against her, and other women, as a criticism.
Meena Harris
When Harris was working as a tech executive in 2016, she created a small side hustle in the form of a t-shirt company that raised money for women’s organizations. That side hustle has now exploded into a multifaceted lifestyle and media company that includes entertainment, digital content, a new book division in partnership with Hachette, and of course, its’ signature statement apparel.
Harris is leaning into the ambition descriptor more than ever as Phenomenal continues its expansion into new spaces. In fact, just as the announcement around Harris’ early stage $6 Million round for her new fund, Phenomenal Ventures, came out, she was in the process of evaluating the many submissions that came in after last month’s announcement about Phenomenal’s new publishing partnership with Hachette, while simultaneously preparing for the release of her new picture book, A Is For Ambitious, which comes out today.
This is the follow up to Harris’ and illustrator Marissa Valdez's book, Ambitious Girl, and builds upon their mission to reclaim certain words frequently used to undermine girls and young women. Harris has no delusions that a saying on a t-shirt or a picture book will solve the issues of structural racism, sexism and general inequity for marginalized groups. To her, this is simply the next step in a series of efforts that aim to drive awareness, spark conversations and instill confidence in the next generation.
I spoke to Harris just as she was embarking on her book tour.
Amy Shoenthal: Why did you decide to write this book in this current moment?
Meena Harris: Ambitious Girl (the book that preceded this one) focused on the power of language, specifically relative to the word ‘ambition.’ There’s such a double standard for women and girls where certain words are turned around on us or weaponized. While I was promoting that book, I started to joke that surely I could rattle off a word like that for every letter of the alphabet. The joke turned into, wait, that’s actually a good idea.
A is for Ambitious has a similar mission of reclaiming and redefining terms that have been used in ways that are harmful. The message has been resonating. I was just on the Kelly Clarkson Show and as we focused on the letter D, 10 more words came up. My word was ‘determined,’ but Kelly pointed out that the word ‘diva’ or ‘drama queen’ could also work.
A is for Ambitious Cover Art
I want people to understand that each of us has the power to define how we feel about these words. Society will try to give us definitions we don’t want, but we don’t have to accept or give into that. When we do, we’re ceding our own power. This book has really basic language that can help build kids up, offering them a sense of self-worth, empowerment and confidence.
Shoenthal: Did your family serve as inspiration for it? Young girls like my four-year-old or your two daughters don't necessarily understand that these words have been weaponized yet, so how do we approach those conversations?
Harris: My girls inspire all of what I do. The issue of diversity in children’s literature is why I wrote my first book. When I became a new parent, I realized there were not a lot of characters who looked like my daughter. I would sometimes take my own pen and color characters’ skin in brown. I would change the pronouns of a character from he to she to they. It’s not only about what I want my daughters to see, but also about what I would have benefitted from as a child.
Maybe kids don’t know that these words will be used against them in a harmful way later in life, but I want them to have this as a building block. We can have age-appropriate conversations based on what they understand now, while establishing the fundamentals for approaching future scenarios that will inevitably come up. When they encounter someone using one of these words in a negative way, they should know how to handle it. We can prepare them to say, ‘that’s not what I was raised to think, that’s not what that word means to me.’
To be clear, I don’t think an ABC book will solve all the institutional sexism or racism that our kids will unfortunately encounter. I’m not pretending that. But reclaiming words and embracing the power to be whoever you want to be is one thing we do have control over. How can we make sure we’re building empathetic, kind, curious humans?
We can do all the ‘rah rah girl power’ stuff at home but we also want them to be prepared for the reality of the world that they’ll grow up in. My family always appreciated children’s capacity for understanding and learning so they were always very straightforward with me.
My work is informed not only by my own children, but also by the family I was raised in. ‘Ambition’ was never a bad word in my home. It was never something I was told to hide or diminish, in fact, I was taught to be proud of it. I saw female ambition on display every single day in a very powerful way. It meant purpose, it meant drive, it meant wanting to make the world better. Nobody sat me down and read me a book about the word ambition. But now that I have a chance to do it my way, I think it’s actually quite useful.
I wrote this book for my girls as much as I did for myself. It’s a good reminder for all of us. Some of the words I chose were words that diminished me or belittled me throughout my life.
Shoenthal: Was there a time when someone told you that your ambition was a negative thing?
Harris: A very formative memory for me is around the age of five, when I started getting some negative connotations around having a young, single mother. My mom and my grandma were both single moms, so it seemed normal to me. Growing up, it was just the four of us: myself, my mom, my grandma, and my aunt. I joke that the concept of men in power was foreign to me as a kid. I had a beautiful family, I was so lucky. I just remember having to field questions from adults that started to make me realize that other people didn’t perceive my family the way I did. I put S for ‘sensitive’ in the book, but maybe I should have put S for ‘single mom.’
Shoenthal: Phenomenal recently announced they’re launching a partnership with Hachette through two of their imprints, Grand Central and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Can you talk more about how that came about and how it will work?
Harris: I’m so excited about this. It's an unprecedented partnership that allows us to work across multiple imprints. That structure will enable us to remain competitive while finding the best possible home for authors. We’ll be able to support, nurture and champion underrepresented authors at every stage of the publishing process. It’s very much aligned with my overall mission for the Phenomenal media company and with my own personal focus on diversity in children’s books. Despite having published several books, I still feel like a newcomer in a primarily white publishing industry, so I’m still learning. I’m also aware of the privileges I have that allowed me to enter this world and I think everyone deserves that support, not just a privileged few.
Shoenthal: You recently teased on your Instagram that you would reveal who the character walking up the steps on the second to last page of the book is. Can you share that now?
Harris: All of my books have an illustrated figure who is inspired by a woman of color elected official. You see Ayanna Pressly in Ambitious Girl, obviously you see the Vice President in Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea.
To answer your question, the woman shown in A is for Ambitious is AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.) There’s a reason she’s on the Y page. I wanted to do something for ‘Young,’ not only because of her relative youth compared to her colleagues, but because she represents a model of new leadership and inspiring young people.
Shoenthal: Speaking of leadership, what’s next for Phenomenal? For you?
Harris: Candidly, I would love to take a nap. After this book tour, we’ll continue to build out our film, TV and theater business. Phenomenal has come on as a co-producer on a number of Broadway shows. We acquired the female humor brand Reductress which has been huge for the digital side of the company. We’re just thinking about different formats all the time.
Everything we do is informed by our equity-driven values, from kids books to movies to statement t-shirts to satire and humor. It’s all about telling those unrepresented stories, and knowing that when we do, we make space for more of them to be told. It’s about deciding whose stories get told on the page, on the stage or on screen but also deciding who gets to tell them and who gets the funding.
I’m really a creative at heart, and it feels very special to get to do this work with the company I’m building, brick by brick. I can’t wait to work with more writers, authors and other creatives as we continue to grow.
