On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, announced 55-year-old California Senator, Kamala Harris, as his running mate. With this historic announcement, Harris becomes the first Black overall to serve as a vice presidential candidate since Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008.
“I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee wrote in an email Tuesday.
Harris, who was once a top contender for the Democratic presidential ticket, ended her campaign at the tail end of 2019.
Growing Up
Born to two immigrant parents: an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father, Harris grew up in the black-dominated area of Oakland, California alongside her younger sister, Maya. Following a 5-year stay in Montreal, Canada, when her mother took a job teaching at McGill University, Harris moved back to the US with her family, spending 4 years at Howard University, one of the country’s preeminent historically black colleges and universities, making her way to a law degree from the University of California, Hastings.
District Attorney and Senate
Ms Harris began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office before her recruitment to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and eventually, the City Attorney of San Francisco’s Office. In 2003, she was elected the 27th District Attorney of San Francisco serving until 2011, before another election made her the first woman and black person to serve as California’s Attorney General.
After time in the Attorney General’s seat, Harris made her way to the US Senate in 2017. Her time in the Senate was popularized by her support for federal de-scheduling of cannabis, healthcare reform, citizenship for undocumented immigrants, as well as her questioning of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Attorney General William Barr in key Senate hearings.
White House Bid
In early 2019, Harris threw her hat into a crowded race for the Democratic presidential ticket. Despite being an early frontrunner due to her representation of key marginalized members of the American population – women, black and Asian, Kamala’s campaign eventually lost steam by the end of the year, forcing her to step back, and pledge support for Joe Biden, who at the time, was neck to neck with former presidential ticket aspirant, Bernie Sanders.
While the response to Harris’ nomination has been positive so far, doubts seem to be creeping up based on her history with law enforcement, especially at a time where conversations surrounding defunding the police continue to permeate political allegiances.
