Washington: Kamala Harris is the first female, first Black, first Indian-American and first Asian vice president-elect of the US. Before becoming the vice president-elect, Harris is known for her many firsts. She has been a country district attorney; the district attorney for San Francisco.
Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan was Indian who went to pursue her further education in America and married Donald Harris, a Black interested in radical political economy.
"This was all very interesting to me, and, I daresay, a bit charming," recalled Harris, now 82 and an Emeritus professor of Economics at Stanford.
Vice President Kamala Harris often talked about the romance of her immigrant parents. They were idealistic foreign graduate students who were indulged in the U.S civil rights movement.
For decades, bright students from British colonies like India and Jamaica, were sent to Britain, by reflex, to pursue advanced studies. Hence proved, Donald Harris and Ms.Shyamala Gopalan were different- iconoclasts. Each had a very compelling reason to pursue American education.
Both Shyamala and Donald became a part of a Black intellectual group.
In the fall of 1962, he met his future wife. "we talked then, continued to talk at a subsequent meeting, and at another, and another," he added. The following year they were married.
In the years since, Kamala Harris has often reflected her immigrant mother's chosen family- Black family, that has powerfully shaped her as a politician today.
After her parent's divorced, Harris was raised by her single mother. Shyamala Gopalan adopted Black culture and immersed both of her daughters- Kamala and Maya- in it. Harris grew up inculcating Indian culture within her while living proudly as an African-American. She joined her mother whenever she visited India.
Harris was born in Oakland and grew up in Berkeley. Her mother taught at McGill University in Montreal.
Gopalan, often told her, "Don't sit around and complain about things, do something." This is what drove Kamala every single day.
Kamala Harris is set to join office on 20th January 2021 alongside, Joe Biden, the president-elect of America.
Also read Joe Biden's journey: From becoming one of the youngest senators to the oldest President of USA