Kamala Harris is an American politician currently serving as the Junior United States Senator from California. Harris was recently announced as Joe Biden’s running mate for the 2020 presidential election. Ella Kamala had previously run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
She was briefly a favorite for the ticket, but on December 3, 2019, she dropped out of contention citing lack of funds. Harris’s steady rise in the political arena began after she was elected San Francisco’s district attorney. She later became California Attorney General before becoming a member of the Senate.
Harris is the third woman in history to be nominated for the vice president position. This piece will look at Kamala’s roots, her husband, and the relationship she enjoys with her stepchildren.
Kamala was mainly raised by her Hindu mother Shyamala after her divorce from Kamala’s father Donald.
Kamala’s parents, Shyamala and Donald, met at UC Berkeley while they were both studying for their doctorates. They got married and welcomed two daughters into the world: Kamala and Maya. Kamala told the Los Angeles Times that Shyamala named her daughters after Hindu goddesses because “a goddess-worshipping culture produces strong women.”
After divorcing David, Shyamala needed to be strong as she had to raise two black daughters alone. She introduced her daughters to aspects of Indian culture, but raised them as African Americans.
Shyamala took her daughters to India, cooked Indian food, and bought Indian jewelry for Maya and Kamala. However, she knew that her daughters needed to learn how to survive in the United States as black women. Kamala wrote in her autobiography the truths we have:
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters. She knew that her adoptive homeland would view Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure that we grew up proud and confident black women.”
Kamala grew up during the height of the civil rights movement in the United States. Different regions of the United States had tried to reduce segregation by implementing ideas like bus transportation to desegregate, but racism was still rampant in the United States. Kamala and Maya experienced racism firsthand when they visited their father in Palo Alto, and the neighbors’ parents forbade their sons from playing with the two girls.
Despite the challenges, Kamala wrote in her book that Shyamala managed to shape the women she and Maya are today. Shyamala passed away in 2009, having contributed greatly to cancer research and civil rights activism. Following the announcement of Kamala as Joe Biden’s running mate, Maya posted the following caption along with a collage of photos and videos of his sister:
“You can’t know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was. I miss her terribly, but I know that she and her ancestors are smiling today.
Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, tied the knot four months after their engagement, as Kamala doesn’t believe in long commitments.
Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff met on a blind date set up by one of their mutual friends. Harris and the entertainment lawyer had an instant connection, and less than a year later, he proposed to her.
The couple had a low-key ceremony at the Santa Barbara courthouse four months after getting engaged. Harris doesn’t believe in long commitments, so the couple got married as fast as they could. Despite the rushed nature of the marriage, the couple recognized each other’s cultural traditions.
Douglas wore a flower garland around his neck to honor Indian customs, and the couple broke a glass at the end of the service to honor Emhoff’s Jewish culture. Harris praised her husband during an interview with Now this“I love my husband. He’s funny. He’s kind. He’s patient. He loves my cooking. He’s a great guy.”
Kamala’s political career has grown by leaps and bounds since they married in 2014. Douglas admits he’s fascinated by the political world, but he’s glad to have a law practice to distract him from the rigors of politics. He said the hollywood reporter:
“With all these other things going on in my life, I know it’s great to have [my practice]because it’s something I love and I’m good at.
Douglas will play a big role in the coming months as Harris will need all the support she can get from the people around her. Fortunately, we can tell from Douglas’s social media pages that he’ll stay with his wife no matter what.
Kamala’s experience of divorce as a child influenced her decision to take her time before meeting her stepchildren.
Kamala began a relationship with Douglas knowing that he was a divorced father with two children, Cole and Ella. Harris’s experience with divorce as a child influenced her decision to wait before meeting Douglas’s children. Kamala would only meet the children after learning that she had a future with Douglas.
Harris wrote in her book that on her first meeting with the Douglas children, she bought them cookies as gifts. Kamala was nervous, but Cole and Ella welcomed her with open arms. she wrote in elle:
“Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are bright, talented and funny kids who have grown into remarkable adults. I was already hooked on Doug, but I think it was Cole and Ella who got me.”
Kamala even hit it off with Cole and Ella’s mom, Kerstin. They attended Ella’s swimming sessions and basketball games together, and gradually developed a deep bond. “Sometimes we joke that our modern family is almost too functional,” Kamala added.
A few years after Kamala and Douglas’s marriage, the children dropped the name ‘stepmother’ and adopted ‘Momala’. Kamala’s children have largely stayed out of politics and the media, but, like Douglas, they will play a pivotal role in the coming months. Kamala concluded:
“They are my inexhaustible source of love and pure joy. I am so grateful to Doug, Kerstin, and most of all, Ella and Cole. And as our family embarks on this new journey together… I can say one thing for sure, my heart would not be complete, nor my life complete, without them.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn