Kamala Devi Harris — 49th vice president of the United States of America. She made history as the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American to hold the office. Born in Oakland, California to immigrant parents — her mother from India and her father from Jamaica — Harris’ multi-cultural background significantly influences her perspectives and political journey.
As she stands on the cusp of being our next president, Harris is a different candidate than we saw four years ago. She is more intentional, focused, and assured. Because history has showed us that Black women struggle to be taken seriously as leaders, her ultimate task towards the presidency is to win over many voters who have never engaged with or imagined a Black woman leader.
Still, there is much to appreciate about Kamala Harris, and I’m sharing six things you might not know about her but should.
Accomplished many firsts in California
Harris served as the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco’s history, from 2004 to 2010, as well as being the first Black woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. After completing two terms, she was then elected as the first African American and first woman to serve as California’s Attorney General.
Attended an Historically Black College
Harris attended the prestigious Howard University, in Washington, D.C., where she majored in political science and economics. Howard is one of the nation’s leading historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and Harris has often spoken about the great impact her time there had on her identity and career. One of her quotes about Howard: “The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things, and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no false choices at Howard.”
While attending Howard, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, the first established Black Greek letter organization for women.
Notable author of three books
In 2009, Harris published her first book, Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer, which focused on criminal justice reform.
Ahead of the 2019 presidential campaign, she introduced voters to her values in The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, which included a blend of career highlights and personal philosophy. “A patriot is not someone who condones the conduct of our country whatever it does. It is someone who fights every day for the ideals of the country, whatever it takes.”
Also in 2019, she released an illustrated children’s book, Superheroes Are Everywhere, which was for readers aged three to seven. In the book, she introduced children to heroes of her own life and wrote about how heroism is more about choice and character.
Failed the bar exam on her first try
Yes, like many law school graduates aiming to work in a difficult state, Harris failed the bar exam on her first attempt. Trump seems to be using that as a dagger against her. As she describes in her book, “In studying for the bar, I had put forward the most half-assed performance of my life.” I believe it makes her human and reinforces her habit of not giving up.
Experienced being at the center of education desegregation
At Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley, Harris was part of a group to be “bussed,” where kids from disadvantaged areas were sent to schools in more affluent areas to diversify the student population. She speaks about the real-life impact of the policy, which brought huge amounts of criticism.
Harris addressed this during a 2020 Democratic debate when she called out Biden on the issue of race and accused him of opposing busing. “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me.”
Kamala Harris did not lock up thousands of Black men
One of the pain-points that Harris has had to deal with since the 2020 campaign is the notion that she sent thousands of Black men to prison for weed in California. Let’s talk about it:
When Harris led the San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office from 2004 to 2010, there were just over 1,900 misdemeanor and felony drug convictions. Yet, she only sentenced 45 people total, not just Black men, to prison for marijuana charges. While she was Attorney General from 2011 to 2017, there were nearly 1,600 individuals sentenced to prison (in the entire state of California) for possession and intent to distribute.
So, to say that she “locked up thousands of Black men” is just not accurate. This narrative has been pushed by Republicans, and unfortunately by some Black people, to once again discredit her ability to lead.
It’s worth mentioning that as a Senator, Harris sponsored a comprehensive legalization bill, as well as called on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) earlier this year to reschedule marijuana, which would drastically reduce the number of arrests, convictions, and sentences for Black men going to prison for weed across the country.
We cannot allow misinformation to distract from the assignment. We have an opportunity to save ourselves from Trump’s agenda that aims to implement aggressive policies that would disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities.
We can be a major voice and force in making sure we maintain our right to live the American Dream, and not take ourselves backwards. These are awakening times, and we can all mobilize and rally for the right candidate.
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