Get to Know Your Next Vice President
By Margaret Coleman
By Margaret Coleman
Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California. She would go on to become a successful and well-regarded politician. Her father was Jamaican, and taught at Stanford University. Her mother was an Indian-American cancer researcher. Harris studied political science and economics at Howard University, and went on to graduate from Hastings College with a law degree.
Harris gained a reputation for toughness while prosecuting cases of sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and gang violence as a deputy district attorney in Oakland from 1990-1998. In 2004 she became district attorney, and 6 years later was narrowly appointed Attorney General of California. This made her the first woman and first African-American person to hold the job. She was very firm in her political opinion, dismissing pressure from Pres. Barack Obama’s administration to settle a lawsuit against mortgage lenders. Furthermore, she refused to defend a law that would ban same-sex marriage, leading it to be reversed in 2013.
In 2015 she married Douglas Emhoff, and was recruited to run for Senate. On the campaign trail she argued for immigration and criminal justice reforms. She easily won the race, and became known for her prosecutorial style of questioning. Some Republican senators disagreed with this, interrupting and complaining about her harshness. Her memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, was published in January of 2019.
Soon Harris announced that she was running for President in 2020. From the get-go she was seen as a top candidate, drawing more attention when she attacked Joe Biden about his opposition to school busing in the 70’s and 80’s. Unfortunately, by September of 2019 her campaign was in trouble, and she dropped out that December. She held her head high, advocating for Social Justice reform after the death of George Floyd.
As Joe Biden pulled ahead in the Democratic Primaries, many people called on him to choose a African-American woman as his running mate. Harris was chosen in August 2020, and when Biden won the election she became the first woman vice-president, as well as the first Black vice-president.
Harris gained a reputation for toughness while prosecuting cases of sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and gang violence as a deputy district attorney in Oakland from 1990-1998. In 2004 she became district attorney, and 6 years later was narrowly appointed Attorney General of California. This made her the first woman and first African-American person to hold the job. She was very firm in her political opinion, dismissing pressure from Pres. Barack Obama’s administration to settle a lawsuit against mortgage lenders. Furthermore, she refused to defend a law that would ban same-sex marriage, leading it to be reversed in 2013.
In 2015 she married Douglas Emhoff, and was recruited to run for Senate. On the campaign trail she argued for immigration and criminal justice reforms. She easily won the race, and became known for her prosecutorial style of questioning. Some Republican senators disagreed with this, interrupting and complaining about her harshness. Her memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, was published in January of 2019.
Soon Harris announced that she was running for President in 2020. From the get-go she was seen as a top candidate, drawing more attention when she attacked Joe Biden about his opposition to school busing in the 70’s and 80’s. Unfortunately, by September of 2019 her campaign was in trouble, and she dropped out that December. She held her head high, advocating for Social Justice reform after the death of George Floyd.
As Joe Biden pulled ahead in the Democratic Primaries, many people called on him to choose a African-American woman as his running mate. Harris was chosen in August 2020, and when Biden won the election she became the first woman vice-president, as well as the first Black vice-president.