Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris made history in the 2020 Presidential election when she was elected as the first woman Vice President of the United States of color. Born to parents from India and Jamaica, Harris spent her childhood learning about both cultures through church and temple visits, along with visiting family in her parent’s home countries. She comes from a family of activists; her parents met during their involvement in the civil rights movement and she has cited being inspired by her maternal grandfather’s views on democracy and women’s rights. Harris obtained her bachelors from Howard University, a HBCU, and her JD from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. With a lengthy career of public service, she first served as a prosecutor for California, then the District Attorney of San Francisco, the Attorney General of California, the US Senator for California, and finally, as the Vice President of the US. Her distinguished career and election to the second highest office in the US marks the breaking of many barriers women and women of color face where they are often judged on and defined by their gender, ethnicity, or physical appearance, and not by their accomplishments. Her election and visibility heralds a change in the US where people of color are recognized beyond descriptive representation, where they are celebrated as Americans first.