She is the first woman, the first black, the first Indian-American and the first Asian vice president-elect of the United States.
Harris was chosen by Joe Biden as his running mate in August, months after she suspended her own presidential dreams, saying she lacked the financial resources to continue her campaign. She was the third female vice presidential candidate to be selected on a list of major parties. Then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008 and New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 were the other two.
First female, black, Indian-American, Asian vice president-elect
The 56-year-old California senator is one of three Asian-Americans in the Senate and the first Native American to serve in the chamber.
Before becoming vice president-elect, Harris is known for many firsts. He has been a county district attorney; the San Francisco district attorney, the first woman and the first African American and Indian to be elected to the position.
‘The Barack Obama woman’
A decade ago, journalist Gwen Ifill called Harris “the Barack Obama woman” on the “Late Show With David Letterman.” Later, Willoughby small businessman Tony Pinto called her “a young, feminine version of the President.”
She is considered close to Barack Obama, the first black American president, who endorsed her in his various elections, including that of the United States Senate in 2016.
Harris was born to two immigrant parents: a black father and an Indian mother. Her father, Donald Harris, was from Jamaica, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist from Chennai. She, however, defines herself simply as “American.”
The strong influence of the mother in his life
After her parents divorced, Harris was raised primarily by her single mother. She says her mother embraced black culture and immersed her two daughters, Kamala and her younger sister Maya, in it. Harris grew up embracing her Indian culture, but living a proudly African-American life. He often joined his mother on visits to India.
“My mother understood very well that I was raising two black daughters,” he wrote in his autobiography ‘The Truths We Hold’. “She knew that her adopted land would see Maya and me as black girls and she was determined to make sure that we became proud and confident black women.”
Harris was born in Oakland and raised in Berkeley. He spent his high school years living in French-speaking Canada; his mother was teaching at McGill University in Montreal.
Her mother told her as a child, “Don’t sit around and complain about things, do something,” which is what drives Kamala every day, according to the joint Biden-Harris campaign website.
He attended college in the United States and spent four years at Howard University, which he has described as one of the most formative experiences of his life.
She started her career as a lawyer
After Howard, she earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings, and began her career with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
She became San Francisco’s chief prosecutor in 2003, before being elected the first woman and the first black person to serve as California’s attorney general in 2010, the chief attorney for America’s most populous state.
In his nearly two terms as attorney general, Harris earned a reputation as one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party. She was elected as a junior US Senator from California in 2017.
Harris has been married to her husband Douglas Emhoff, an attorney, for the past six years. She is the stepmother of two children, Ella and Cole.
“Harris knows the experience of African Americans. He knows the experience of South Asia and the United States. He knows the experience of immigrants. He knows the aspirational power of the American dream. She is the running mate of this moment,” wrote Neil Makhija , executive director of IMPACT, in an opinion piece published by CNN during the presidential campaign.
‘Let’s Get Started,’ Says Vice President-Elect Harris After Historic Victory
Vice President Elect of the United States Kamala harris he asked Americans to “get started” on the job ahead after networks projected that Democrat Joe Biden, his running mate, defeated Republican President Donald Trump.
“This election is so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It is about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it,” tweeted Harris, a US senator from California and the first woman of color to be elected to the vice presidency. .
“We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.”
Indian-American Diaspora, South Asian Politician Salutes Biden-Harris
Political organizations in the Indian-American and South Asian diaspora praised the “close victory” of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, describing it as “a truly remarkable victory for the future of America.” political “will enhance the political commitment of the American Indian community.”
South Asianns for Biden (SAB), a nationally-based political organization, said that it is elated to celebrate the tough victory won by Biden and Harris in this election.
“This is truly a remarkable victory for the future of America, our democracy, and the entire South Asian community. That the Biden-Harris ticket ousted a sitting president is a historic feat and represents a compelling repudiation of President Trump and his abhorrent worldview, “said SAB National Director Neha Dewan.
(With inputs from agencies)
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