The HBCU Family is so Proud of Howard University’s Graduate

Vice President Kamala Harris

Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of immigrants – her father Donald Harris was from Jamaica and her mother Shyamala Gopalan was from India. Harris was raised primarily by her mother after her parents divorced when she was 7 years old.

Growing up, Harris was exposed to both Indian and African American cultures. Her mother took her to visit family in India and also ensured she was connected to her African American roots. As a child, Harris attended civil rights demonstrations with her parents and sang in a Baptist choir.

For her education, Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington D.C., where she earned a BA in political science and economics. She then went on to earn her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1989.

After passing the California bar exam in 1990, Harris began her career as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. She steadily rose through the ranks of the California legal system, becoming San Francisco’s district attorney in 2003. In this role, she launched initiatives like “Back on Track” to reduce recidivism rates.

In 2010, Harris was elected as California’s attorney general, becoming the first African American and first woman to hold this position. She served in this role until 2016, when she was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming only the second African American woman ever elected to the Senate.

During her time in the Senate, Harris served on key committees including Intelligence and Judiciary. She gained national attention for her prosecutorial questioning style during Senate hearings.

In 2019, Harris launched a campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out before the primaries. In August 2020, Joe Biden selected her as his vice presidential running mate. Following their election victory, on January 20, 2021, Harris was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States. This made her the first woman, first African American, first Indian American, and first Asian American to hold the office of Vice President.

As Vice President, Harris has worked on issues like immigration, voting rights, and women’s reproductive freedoms. She has also represented the U.S. in meetings with foreign leaders.

In her personal life, Harris married lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014 and became stepmother to his two children. She is known to her stepchildren as “Momala”.

Throughout her career, Harris has been a trailblazer, breaking barriers and glass ceilings in multiple roles. She has described her approach as: “I am who I am. I’m good with it. You might need to figure it out, but I’m fine with it.