Kamala was born on October 20th, 1964 in Oakland, CA. Kamala came from immigrant parents from Jamaica and India. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, inspired Kamala. Kamala’s father, Donald Harris, taught at Stanford, serving as emeritus professor of economics. Growing up, Kamala lived in a diverse community and was surrounded by family. Kamala’s parents were activists, teaching Kamala the importance of Civil Rights and the names of people who had essential roles in activism, from Thurgood Marshall to Constance Baker Motley, whose work inspired her to become a prosecutor. When Harris was 13, she and her sister, Maya, held a rally outside of their apartment building protesting against the policy that children weren’t allowed to play on their lawn. After studying political science and economics, graduating with a Bachelor of arts in 1986 at Howard University, Kamala earned a law degree in 1989 from Hastings College.
Harris has accomplished several firsts in California. She was the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history and was the first African American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. After completing a couple of terms in the role, she was elected as the first African American and the first woman to serve as California's Attorney General. Kamala Harris worked first as a managing attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. She was later the Division’s Chief of Children and Families for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. From 1990 to 1998, she worked as a deputy district attorney in Oakland, earning her toughness while prosecuting cases. In 2003 she was elected to the district attorney of San Francisco and, under it, she created a program for first-time offenders to earn a high school degree and find employment. In 2017, Vice President Harris was sworn into the Senate. In her first speech, she spoke out on refugees who were under attack. As a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee member, she fought for better protections for dreamers and called for better oversight of conditions at immigrants detention facilities. Vice President Harris is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President.
Being the first woman in her position is not only historic, but is an excellent development for our country. It shows that even as a woman from a small town, Oakland, we can see great and talented people and know that we can change our world for the greater good by electing them. Recently Harris was recognized by Nickelodeon, awarding her with the Generation Change Award to all of the “young leaders” across the country who have handled troubled times with grace. Vice President Harris is an inspiration to all of us, and she can inspire us all to achieve our dreams and lets us know that we can be whatever we want to be with enough patience and experience. As she once said, “Don’t just sit around and complain about things. Do something about it.” so even being stuck inside, we can make a difference!