WHO IS KAMALA HARRIS

Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 10, 1964 in Oakland, California. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a Tamil breast cancer scientist who emigrated from India in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica in 1961 to study at UC Berkeley and was a professor at Stanford University. She has a younger sister, Maya, who is now a close political adviser.

Harris received her undergraduate degree at Howard University, where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Her sorority, known as AKA, has an influential political network. Harris received her law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Harris married Doug Emhoff in 2014. Emhoff has two children from a previous marriage. Harris’ long career as a prosecutor may be a boon for Biden, although critics have raised concerns about her record as a district attorney and California attorney general. After graduating law school in 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California. She also served on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later the California Medical Assistance Commission.

DEMOCRACY JUST cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work . . . . We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust.”.

KAMALA HARRIS, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey