After American President Joe Biden stepped down from the 2024 presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democrats’ presidential nominee, the campaign quickly became one of the most important in America’s history.
If Kamala Harris is successful in securing the votes needed to take her place as President of the United States, she will become America’s first female president.
As we await election results with anxious anticipation, we’re sharing everything you need to know about Kamala Harris.
5 Things To Know About Kamala Harris
She Is The First Female Vice President
Harris’ political career has been associated with many ‘firsts’.
She is not only America’s first female vice president but the first Black American and first Indian American Vice President.
Prior to becoming Vice President, she was also the first black woman to be elected as district attorney in California, the first Indian American senator, and the first female attorney-general in California.
However, for Kamala Harris, being first isn’t her priority. Harris lives by a saying from her mother, “you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.”
Her Parents Were Civil Right Movement Activists
Harris’ parents emigrated to America from Jamaica and India.
Her late mother, Shyamala Goplan was a biomedical scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and her father, Donald Harris was an economics professor at Stanford University. The couple were strong supporters of the civil rights movements and would attend protests with young Harris still in a pram.
Harris also describes herself as directly benefiting from the civil rights movement, when as a child, her area began desegregating schools through bussing.
Harris and some other black children were bussed to the white, and more prestigious, school in her area.
Harris spoke about this experience during the Democratic Party debate in 2019, when she challenged Joe Biden about his “civil” political relationships with segregationists.
“It was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose bussing,” Harris said.
“And you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to school every day. And that little girl was me.”
She’s A Stepmother To Two Children
When Harris married lawyer, Doug Emhoff, she became a step-mother to his two children, Cole and Ella, who he shares with ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff.
Kerstin and Emhoff were married from 1992 until 2008.
In 2019, Harris penned a piece for Elle about her relationship with her step-children.
“As a child of divorce, I knew how hard it could be when your parents start to date other people. And I was determined not to insert myself in their lives until Doug and I had established we were in this for the long haul.”
In the essay, she writes that she needn’t have been worried because, “Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults. I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in.”
Harris revealed that she didn’t just hit it off with Emhoff’s children, but their mother as well.
“To know Cole and Ella is to know that their mother Kerstin is an incredible mother. Kerstin and I hit it off ourselves and are dear friends. She and I became a duo of cheerleaders in the bleachers at Ella’s swim meets and basketball games, often to Ella’s embarrassment. We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional.”
She’s Run For President Before
This isn’t the first time that Harris has been close to the presidential election—in 2019, Harris ran her own presidential campaign with her sister Maya as her campaign chairwoman.
However, Harris ended up dropping out of the race because of a lack of funds.
She’s An Advocate For Women’s Rights
Harris is a committed advocate for women’s rights.
“Here’s the truth people need to understand: To tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century, we must empower women and families. If we do not lift up women and families, everyone will fall short,” Harris said at National Partnership for Women and Families Gala in 2017.
She has been vocal about her support for legislation that would protect women’s right to abortion and is believed to have made the first official visit to an abortion clinic by a president or vice president.
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This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
