Harris makes history as first female, Black, South Asian American VP-elect

With Joe Biden now United States president-elect, his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also solidified her place in history Saturday by becoming the first woman, the first Black American and the first South Asian American elected vice president in US history.

Harris’ political career has included many barrier-breaking moments, such as serving as California’s first Black female attorney general and being the second Black woman in history to be elected to the US Senate.

Harris, 56, the only Black woman currently in the Senate, was elected in 2016 after serving as California’s attorney general and, before that, as the San Francisco district attorney. The child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, the native of Oakland, California, has said she was inspired to attend law school after attending civil rights protests with her parents.

Before Harris made history in the ivory halls of Congress and on the Democratic presidential ticket, her sharp debate skills and understanding of her multiracial heritage were honed at Howard University, one of the most prestigious historically Black colleges in the country.

Harris, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historically Black sorority she joined while at Howard, will also be the first vice president from a historically Black Greek-letter organization.

Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley, had an immense impact on Harris and her sister, Maya. The senator has spoken about how Gopalan, a civil rights activist, was a role model for her despite the challenges she faced as an immigrant and later as a single mother, forging a life in the United States.

Gopalan met Harris’ father, Donald, while participating in civil rights protests. They eventually divorced, with her raising the children on her own. Gopalan was cognizant that most people would see her children as Black and was “determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women,” Harris wrote in her autobiography, “The Truths We Hold.” However, Gopalan also made efforts to nurture her children’s Indian heritage.

Picking Harris also provided the ticket with generational diversity. Biden, who will turn 78 later this month, is the oldest president-elect in US history.