INTRODUCING… the United States first Jamaican South Asian female Vice President in American history, Madame Vice President Kamala D. Harris… Congratulations!!!
Early Family Life – Kamala Devi Harris, born October 20, 1964 in Oakland California, is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current Vice President of the United States who ranks as the highest female official in U.S. history. She is the first African American South Asian American Vice President.
Shyamala Gopalan (mother) passed away in 2009. She was a South Asian American biomedical scientist whose work in isolating and characterizing the progesterone receptor gene stimulated advances in breast biology and oncology.
Donald Jasper Harris (father) is a Jamaican-American economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University who’s known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics.
Maya Harris (sister) is an American lawyer, public policy advocate, and writer. In 2015, Maya Harris was appointed as a senior policy advisor for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Canadian Ties – Although Vice President Harris doesn’t talk much about her Canadian connection, after her parents divorced, Shyamala Gopalan Harris moved to Montreal, Quebec Canada with her daughters. Shyamala worked in breast cancer research at McGill University Faculty of Medicine and during that time Kamala attended Westmount High in Montreal where she graduated in 1981.
Influence – Former President Barack Obama, the first African American President, inspired blacks and people of colour to get involved in politics. In turn, Vice President Kamala Harris has inspired people of colour and women of all races to enter the political arena and follow their dreams as articulated in the video below.
Post Secondary Education – Kamala Harris attended the University of California Hastings College of the Law, San Fransisco California and Howard University in Washington DC. She is especially proud of her time at Howard University.
Howard University is a historically black College University (HBCU) established in 1876, named after General Oliver Otis Howard. He was the head of the post civil war freedmen’s bureau, who influenced congress to appropriate funds for the school.
During Madame Vice President Kamala Harris’s time at Howard University, she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.. It’s the first intercollegiate historically African American Greek-lettered sorority.
In the video below the Ladies of Howard celebrate Madame Vice President Kamala D. Harris.
Women Making History – Below is the historical swearing in of the first Madame Vice President Kamala Harris by the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.
Speech – The next video is Vice President Kamala Harris’s victory speech. It’s one of the greatest moments in American history.
Funny Note – watch as Vice President Kamala D. Harris has a good laugh as she took her place as President of the Senate. Her first duty as President of the Senate was to swear in three new senators which included her replacement… Awkwarrrd. lol
Personal Perspective – As a person who was raised in the Bay area city of Vallejo, California, I would like to say how proud I am of Madame Vice President Kamala Harris. It gives me great honour to start off our Black History Month series with Madame Vice President Kamala D. Harris and her historical win.
Thank you Madame Vice President for your service and inspiration. You have given a new sense of pride and hope to Oakland, the Bay Area, the nation as a whole, multitudes of women and people of colour all over the world… Congratulations!!!
Albert Earl Jr.
Enjoy the video’s and please share… Thank you!!!