Who is Kamala Harris?

On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, history was made when Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as the first ever female Vice-President of the United States of America after a life time of public service.

Her swearing in is the closest any woman has got to the US presidential seat, in American history, since 1872.

The momentous event took place after she had accepted President Joe Biden’s invitation on August 11, 2020, to become his running mate and help unite the nation. 

She, therefore, became the first woman and the first African American as well as Asian American elected Vice-President of the United States, on the ticket with former senator and Vice-President Joe Biden of Delaware, on November 3, 2020.

What may not be known to many people though, is the fact that the two – Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, before partnering for the US presidency, had slug it out in the primaries to be the candidate of the Democratic Party.

Ms Harris announced that she was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. From the outset, she was seen as one of the leading contenders, and she drew particular attention when, during a primary debate, she had a contentious exchange with then fellow candidate, Joe Biden, over his opposition to school busing in the 1970s and ’80s, among other race-related topics. 

Although her support initially increased by September 2019, her campaign was in serious trouble, and in December, she dropped out of the race. 

Ms Harris came into the picture again when racial injustice became a major issue in the United States and many Democrats called on Biden, the party’s presumptive nominee, to select an African-American woman — a demographic that was seen as pivotal to his election chances, as his vice presidential running mate. 

Thus in August 2020, Mr Biden chose Ms Harris, which made her the first Black woman to appear on a major party’s national ticket in the USA and also the first Black woman to be elected Vice-President of the United States in November the same year.

A life of firsts

By virtue of her election, Ms Harris became the first woman, first African American and first Asian American Vice-President in the history of the United States.

However, apart from becoming the first female Vice-President in American history at the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, Kamala Harris has virtually lived a life of firsts.

Her appointment is historical on many levels, as she breaks the glass ceiling in politics for women in the executive branch.

As the daughter of a Jamaican American father and Indian American mother, Vice-President Harris becomes the first Black woman and the first Asian American to step into the role.

Her husband, Doug Emhoff, an entertainment attorney, is the first Jewish spouse of any U.S. Vice-President and also becomes the first-ever Second Gentleman in the country.

Before getting to the White House, the American seat of government, Vice-President Harris had chalked up a feat as the first African American and first woman elected as District Attorney of San Francisco (2004–2011) and Attorney General of California (2011–2016). 

She was narrowly elected the Attorney General of California in 2010 after winning by a margin of less than one per cent. 

She oversaw the largest state justice department in the United States and established the state’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice as well as instituted several first-of-their-kind reforms that ensured greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.

As Attorney General, she won a $20 billion settlement for Californians whose homes had been foreclosed, as well as a $1.1 billion settlement for students and veterans who were taken advantage of by a for-profit education company. 

She also defended the Affordable Care Act in court, enforced environmental law, and was a national leader in the movement for marriage equality.

Again, Ms Harris became the first African American to represent California in the United States Senate on January 3, 2017.  

When she took office in January 2017, she also became the first Indian American in the Senate and just the second Black woman.

Throughout her career, Vice-President Harris has been guided by the words she spoke, the first time she stood up in court: Kamala Harris, for the people.

Although she is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice-President, as was the case with other offices she had held, she is, however, determined not to be the last.

Biography

Born Kamala Devi Harris on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California, United States of America, to parents who emigrated from India and Jamaica, she became the 49th vice-president of the United States in 2021 at age 57, in the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden.  

Her Jamaican father taught at Stanford University, and her mother, the daughter of an Indian diplomat, was a cancer researcher. Her younger sister, Maya, later became a public policy advocate. After studying political science and economics (B.A., 1986) at Howard University, Kamala earned a law degree (1989) from the Hastings College of Law.

After earning her juris doctor degree, she served as the Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, California, from 1990 to 1998, where she specialised in prosecuting child sexual assault cases, before becoming the managing attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, and then chief of the Division on Children and Families, where she established California’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice.  

District Attorney

She was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003. In that role, Vice-President Harris created a ground-breaking programme to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment. 

The programme was designated as a national model of innovation for law enforcement by the United States Department of Justice.

It was her reputation for toughness as she prosecuted cases of gang violence, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse that made Vice-President Harris rise through the ranks, beginning her role as District Attorney in 2004. 

After taking office and thereafter becoming California’s Attorney General, she demonstrated political independence, rejecting, for example, pressure from the administration of President Barack Obama for her to settle a nationwide lawsuit against mortgage lenders for unfair practices. 

Instead, she pressed California’s case and in 2012 won a judgment five times higher than that originally offered. Her refusal to defend Proposition 8 (2008), which banned same-sex marriage in the state, helped lead to it being overturned in 2013. 

Her book, Smart on Crime (2009; co-written with Joan O’C. Hamilton), was considered a model for dealing with the problem of criminal recidivism.

In 2012, Ms Harris delivered a memorable address at the Democratic National Convention, raising her national profile. 

Marriage, senate

Two years later in 2014, she married attorney Douglas Emhoff. They have a large blended family that includes their children, Ella and Cole. That is not surprising, as while growing up, Vice-President Harris was surrounded by a diverse community and extended family. 

Widely considered a rising star within the party, she was recruited to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Barbara Boxer, who was retiring. 

Vice-President Harris and her sister, Maya Harris, were inspired by their mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist and pioneer in her own right, who received her doctorate the same year Kamala was born. 

Her parents were activists, instilling Vice-President Harris with a strong sense of justice. They brought her to civil rights demonstrations and introduced role models — ranging from Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, to civil rights leader, Constance Baker Motley, whose work motivated her to become a prosecutor. 

In early 2015 Harris declared her candidacy, and on the campaign trail, she called for immigration and criminal-justice reforms, increases to the minimum wage, and protection of women’s reproductive rights. She easily won the 2016 election.

In 2017, Vice-President Harris was sworn into the United States Senate. In her first speech, she spoke out on behalf of immigrants and refugees. As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, she fought for better protections for DREAMers and called for better oversight of substandard conditions at immigrant detention facilities.

On the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, she worked with members of both parties to keep the American people safe from foreign threats and crafted bipartisan legislation to assist in securing American elections. 

She visited Iraq, Jordan, and Afghanistan to meet with service members and assess the situation on the ground. She also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. During her tenure on the committee, she participated in hearings for two Supreme Court nominees. 

As Senator, Vice-President Harris championed legislation to combat hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, and address the climate crisis as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. 

Her bipartisan anti-lynching bill passed the Senate in 2018. Her legislation to preserve Historically Black Colleges and Universities was signed into law, as was her effort to infuse much-needed capital into low-income communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From District Attorney to Vice-President

From a young District Attorney of San Francisco, in 2003, Kamala Devi Harris would take 18 years to reach the pinnacle of leadership in no less a place as the White House – the seat of government of the United States of America, as the Vice-President.

Incidentally, on January 18 in 2021, she officially resigned from the Senate and two days later, amid an incredible security presence, she was sworn in as Vice-President. 

On that fateful Wednesday morning (January 20, 2021), while addressing the nation from the Capitol, President Biden said, “Here we stand, 108 years ago at another inaugural; thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote — and today, we marked the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office: Vice-President Kamala Harris. Don’t tell me things can’t change!”

As Vice-President, Kamala Harris has led the US Administration’s efforts to rally broad coalitions to protect the freedom to vote, expand workers’ rights to organise and collectively bargain, and stand up for women’s rights — supporting women in the workforce, addressing the maternal health crisis, and defending reproductive rights. 

The Vice-President has also played a key role in engaging world leaders and strengthening the US’s alliances and partnerships.