The Westport Library Resource Guides: Kamala Harris: About

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Who is Kamala Harris?

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President – the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected to this position. As Vice President, she has worked to bring people together to advance opportunity, deliver for families, and protect fundamental freedoms across the country. She has led the fight for the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, the freedom to live safe from gun violence, the freedom to vote, and the freedom to drink clean water and breathe clean air. While visiting 36 states and making history at home, she is also representing the nation abroad — embarking on 17 foreign trips, traveling to 21 countries, and meeting with more than 150 world leaders to strengthen critical global alliances.

Vice President Harris was born in Oakland, California. As the daughter of immigrants, she grew up surrounded by a diverse community and a loving extended family. She and her sister, Maya, were inspired by their mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a breast cancer scientist and pioneer in her own right who came to the United States from India at the age of 19 and then received her doctorate the same year that Kamala was born.

Both of the Vice President’s parents were active in the civil rights movement and instilled in her a commitment to build strong coalitions that fight for the rights and freedoms of all people. They brought her to civil rights marches in a stroller and taught her about heroes like Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and civil rights leader Constance Baker Motley.

Vice President Harris went on to graduate from Howard University and the University of California Hastings College of Law. In 2014, she married Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer. They have a large blended family that includes their children, Ella and Cole. Continue reading from The Biden White House Archives