Kamala Harris' Parents: A Story of Love, Activism, and Achievement
Kamala Harris, the first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president of the United States, is the daughter of two immigrants who met and fell in love in the United States during the civil rights era.
Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a breast cancer researcher and activist from India. Her father, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American economist.
Harris' parents met in the fall of 1962 at an off-campus space at the University of California at Berkeley. Harris Sr., a tall, thin Jamaican Ph.D. student, was approached by Gopalan, a young Indian scientist, after he spoke at a study group. They began dating soon after and married in 1963.
Harris' parents were both active in the civil rights movement. Gopalan was involved in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and Harris Sr. was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). They instilled in their daughter a strong sense of social justice and a commitment to fighting for equality.
Harris' parents divorced when she was 7 years old, but they remained close and continued to co-parent her. Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009, and Harris Sr. is now retired and living in Jamaica.
Harris has said that her parents are her "role models" and that she is "who she is today" because of them. She has also said that she is "proud" of her parents' legacy of activism and social justice.
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