Kamala Harris Closer to Her Mother Than Her Father ? Who Are Her Parents ?

In her speeches, Kamala Harris often cites her mother, who is Indian, as an example. However, she has stated that she is not close to her father.

Kamala Harris is the first black and South Asian woman to seek the American presidency. Born on October 20, 1964, the former attorney general of California comes from a multicultural family. Her father, Donald Harris, is Jamaican. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, is Indian. In her speeches and her 2019 memoir, “The Truths We Hold,” Harris gives prominence to her mother figure. She often cites her mother as an example, and even calls her “her greatest source of inspiration,” says Politico.

Shyamala Gopalan arrived in the United States at the age of 19, with a degree from the University of Delhi barely in her pocket. She was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology. Shyamala Gopalan met Donald Harris, whom she married in 1963. She received her doctorate at the age of 25, in 1964, the year her first daughter Kamala was born. Two years later, she gave birth to Maya Harris, a lawyer and civil rights activist. During her life – she died in 2009 of colon cancer – Shyamala Gopalan worked as a breast cancer researcher, USA Today details.

“Becoming Confident and Proud Black Women”

The two spouses divorced in 1971. Kamala and Maya lived with their mother, who had a great influence in their lives. “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to “to make us black women who are confident and proud of themselves,” the Democrat wrote in her memoir. The two sisters, however, did not grow up far removed from their Indian roots. In Sanskrit, Kamala means lotus flower, reports the New York Times.

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While their father was part of their childhood and adolescence, the Harris girls only saw him “on weekends” or in the summers, spent in Palo Alto, California, Kamala details in her book. “But it was my mother who took charge of our education. She was the one who contributed the most to making us the women we would become.”

Unlike her mother, the Democratic candidate rarely talks about her father figure. During her inaugural address at the Democratic National Convention last August, Kamala Harris only mentioned her father in this memory: “My earliest memories of our parents together are very happy ones. A house filled with laughter and music: Aretha, Coltrane and Miles. At the park, my mother would say, “Stay close to me,” but my father would say, smiling, “Run, Kamala, run. Don't be afraid. Don't let anything stop you.” From a young age, he taught me to don't be afraid.”

“My father is a good person, but we are not close”

Donald Harris was born in Jamaica in 1938. He received his BA from the University of London and then moved to the United States to complete a PhD in economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He held several teaching positions during his life: at Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 1972, he was hired as a professor of economics at Stanford, becoming the first black researcher to be granted tenure. within the School of Economics, reports USA Today. He retired in 1998. He has since become an expert on economic growth in his home country of Jamaica, reports the Washington Post. .

“My father is a good man, but we are not close,” in 2003 Kamala Harris, reports Fox News. Donald Harris himself has been quiet about his daughter's career. He only spoke publicly about Kamala Harris in 2019, after the politician jokingly said she was not opposed to legalizing marijuana because “half of [her] family is from Jamaica.” “My late parents must be turning in their graves,” Donald Harris responded. “On behalf of myself and my immediate Jamaican family, we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty.” He later retracted his statement, announcing that he would stay away from “all the political noise,” details The Root. Kamala Harris indicated in 2021 that she and her father are on good terms.