Kamala Harris is a true inspiration for all the women out there. She influenced so many people and also gave them the courage to go out in the world and achieve everything that they deserve.
As a black woman, she had to face many struggles and bear the brunt of life’s harsh realities. But throughout everything, she remained strong and fought her battles bravely.
She made history by becoming the foremost black woman Vice-President-elect of the U.S.
But even before becoming the Vice-President-elect of the U.S, she was a true activist.
She made history a couple of times with her excellent skills and activism. We surely know about her being the Vice-President-elect of the U.S. But do you know about her several other remarkable achievements?
So let us look further into the life of Kamala Devi Harris and learn about the various interesting facts about her.
Kamala Harris is also a South-Asian:
Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a South-Asian woman. She belonged from India and later went to California.
Kamala’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was the one who chose Kamala’s unique name. The meaning of her name is ‘lotus.’ And it is also another name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
Kamala Harris always tells how her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is her true inspiration.
Right from the beginning, she took her mother’s words seriously and followed them. She was once quoted saying how she believes in her mother’s motto of life. The quote is, “You may be the first, but make sure you are not the last.”
Her full name is Kamala Devi Harris.
Kamala comes from a family of activists:
Activism is not new to Kamala. It has been in her family for a very long time.
Her father was a professor at Stanford University. And her mother was a cancer researcher. Both of her parents met during their university years and actively took part in protests.
Even her younger sister, Mary, is an advocate. She organizes a lot of campaigns.
Harris went to both a Black Baptist church and also to a temple:
She gladly embraces both her black and South-Asian identities. In her childhood days, she visited both the temple and the church.
In her book, she has mentioned how her mother helped her become a strong and confident black woman.
Kamala Harris came to India when she was a child:
As a daughter of an Indian mother, she visited India in her childhood.
Her grandfather was a high-ranking government official. Her grandfather fought for the independence of India.
Even her grandmother was a true activist. She spread awareness about birth control by teaching poor and underprivileged women about it. Kamala Harris was really influenced not just by her parents but also her grandparents.
Kamala Harris studied at Howard University and later in a law school:
After finishing high school, she went to Howard University for her future studies. She also did her major in political science and economics.
After finishing her university, she took admission to a law school in San Francisco. After concluding her studies, she underwent working at the Alameda County prosecutor’s office in Oakland.
Harris also became the district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California:
She got a victory in the election of the district attorney. And by winning it, she became the first black woman in California to hold the district attorney’s position.
After a few years of working as the district attorney, she also successfully became the attorney general. She won the election just by 0.8% points.
Do you know that she is friends with the famous Barack Obama?
Not many of us might know, but she is a great friend of Barack Obama.
They have been friends since almost 2004. During Obama’s presidential bid, she was the first notable person from California to endorse him.
Kamala Harris is also a great cook:
Apart from being quite successful in her professional career, she is also an amazing cook.
She posts a lot of cooking videos and pictures on her social media accounts. In fact, she also participated in a cooking show.
Kamala Harris also wrote books:
She is the author of quite a few books. She wrote two non-fiction books and also a children’s book. Isn’t she quite a multi-tasker?
The name of her children’s book is Superheroes are Everywhere. The two non-fiction books that she wrote had different themes.
One was more of an autobiography, and another one talked about her experiences as a prosecutor.
Marriage and children:
In 2014, she got married to Douglas Emhoff. And Harris also has two stepchildren named Ella and Cole. They call Harris’ Momala’.
She helped form the first same-sex marriage in California to happen:
Kamala has always stood up for the right thing and protested against the wrong. She helped form the first same-sex marriage in California.
It happened between Kris Perry and Sandy Stier. She right away refused to support Proposition 8 of California. Although it offended many high officials, she stood by her decision.
Kamala Harris also did a lot of social work for children:
Harris is the co-founder of the organization named, Coalition to End the Exploitation of Kids.
She also helped in developing a program with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
She is also the first person born after the 1950s to be elected as the Vice-President:
Kamala Harris is also a great debater. In 2018, she questioned Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which garnered a lot of attention.
Born on the 20th of October in 1964 in Oakland, Kamala Harris was the first person post-1950 born to be elected as the vice-resident.
She was actually the second black woman to ever be a senator of America.
Kamala Harris also featured among Time’s 100 Most Influential People. She was also an associate of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
She also tried to make lynching a hate crime:
Harris used her power to propose a bill that stated that lynching was a hate crime. And it should not be practiced.
During her term as an attorney general of California, she also started an LGBTQ hate crimes unit.
First Asian-American to be elected as the Vice-President:
She is not just the first black woman to become the Vice-President of the U.S.
But she is also the first Asian-American to hold that position of power.
President of her law school’s association:
Leadership qualities were in her blood. She always was the person who came forward to protest against any wrong.
In her law school, she was the President of the Black Law Student’s Association.
Her online supporters are called ‘KHive’:
Now, this would surely be an interesting fact for all social media enthusiasts.
She receives a lot of online support from people all over the world. People love her for her influential works.
Her supporters are commonly called ‘KHive.’ They took inspiration from Beyonce’s fans, known as Beyhive.
Her favorite books:
She is an avid reader.
Some of her favorite books include- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Lion, The Witch of the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, “Native Son” written by Richard Wright, and “The Joy Luck Club” written by Amy Tan, and so on.
She created Open Justice:
Kamala created Open Justice-an Online Platform for public.
The platform has the database that contains the injuries & deaths inside the Jail. This platform puts pressure on the Police to be more accountable to public.
Why is she the best choice for Vice President?
She is on the younger side of her age as a leader which is required for Biden who is going to be the Oldest President ever in the history of United States of America.
She hails from California which happens to be the first choice for Democratic Votes as well the Democratic Election Donors so for the long term it is on favour of the Party.
for facts about the life of Joe Biden, read America loves him