Superheroes Are Everywhere
Presidential Campaign
With President Joe Biden, Harris began running for a second term in the 2024 presidential election. Their incumbent ticket faced few Democratic challengers and earned almost 3,900 delegates in primary races, all but assuring the Democratic nomination.
However, on July 21, 2024, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsed Harris as the preferred Democratic nominee to face former President Donald Trump for the White House in November. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump,” Harris said ahead of the Democratic National Convention in late August.
Support for Harris’ candidacy built quickly, and on August 5, a majority of Democratic delegates approved her as the party’s nominee for the general election. The next day, Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. The breakneck speed of her campaign continued when she officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on August 22. She became the first Black woman and Asian American to lead a major party’s ticket.
Ultimately, her campaign failed to convince enough voters to support her in the November general election. She and Walz lost to Trump and vice president–elect JD Vance.
Harris published two books in early 2019: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, which reflects on her personal relationships and upbringing, and Superheroes Are Everywhere, another memoir rendered in picture-book form for kids. She first became an author in 2009 with Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer, which explores her philosophy and ideas for criminal justice reform.
Attorney General of California (2011–2017)
Harris was elected Attorney General of California in 2010, becoming the first woman, African American, and South Asian American to hold the office in the state's history.[56] She took office on January 3, 2011, and was reelected in 2014.[57] She served until resigning on January 3, 2017, to take her seat in the United States Senate.
In 2010, Harris announced her candidacy for attorney general and was endorsed by prominent California Democrats, including U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.[58] She won the Democratic primary and narrowly defeated Republican nominee Steve Cooley in the general election.[59] Her tenure was marked by significant efforts in consumer protection, criminal justice reform, and privacy rights.
In 2014, Harris was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Ronald Gold with 58% of the vote.[57] During her second term, she expanded her focus on consumer protection, securing major settlements against corporations like Quest Diagnostics,[60] JPMorgan Chase,[61] and Corinthian Colleges,[62][63] recovering billions for California consumers. She spearheaded the creation of the Homeowner Bill of Rights to combat aggressive foreclosure practices during the housing crisis, recording multiple nine-figure settlements against mortgage servicers.[64][65] Harris also worked on privacy rights. She collaborated with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook to ensure that mobile apps disclosed their data-sharing practices.[66][67] She created the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit, focusing on cyber privacy and data breaches.[67] California secured settlements with companies like Comcast and Houzz for privacy violations.[68][69]
Harris was instrumental in advancing criminal justice reform. She launched the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry and implemented the Back on Track LA program, which provided educational and job training opportunities for nonviolent offenders.[70][71] Despite her focus on reform, Harris faced criticism for defending the state's position in cases involving wrongful convictions[72] and for her office's stance on prison labor.[73][74] She continued to advocate for progressive reforms, including banning the gay panic defense in California courts[75][76] and opposing Proposition 8, the state's same-sex marriage ban.[77][78][79]
Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer
Doug Emhoff and Kamala Harris, seen here at the Capital Pride Parade in June 2021, have been married since 2014.
Harris married lawyer Doug Emhoff in Santa Barbara, California, on August 22, 2014. The couple initially met on a blind date a year prior. Emhoff became the first second gentleman in U.S. history after Harris took office as vice president in January 2021.
Harris is the stepmother of Emhoff’s two children, Ella and Cole, who affectionately call her “Momala.” Harris told Elle in 2019: “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.”
Cole, born in 1994 and named after saxophonist John Coltrane, is an actor and production assistant who has worked on movies like Minari (2020) and Father of the Bride (2022). Ella—born in 1999 and similarly named after a musician, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald—is a model and fashion designer.
Harris’ net worth is estimated around $8 million as of November 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Much of her wealth stems from income earned by her husband, Doug Emhoff. Forbes reported Harris earned a salary of $235,000 as vice president in 2023.
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Kamala Harris sinh ra ở Oakland, California, Harris tốt nghiệp Đại học Howard và Đại học California, Cao đẳng Luật Hastings. Bà bắt đầu sự nghiệp của mình tại Văn phòng luật sư Quận Alameda, trước khi được tuyển vào Văn phòng Luật sư Quận San Francisco và sau đó là Văn phòng Luật sư Thành phố San Francisco.
Từ tháng 1/2014 đến tháng 1/2011, bà nắm giữ chức vụ Ủy viên công tố quận San Francisco thay cho Terence Hallinan.
Bà được bầu làm Tổng chưởng lý của California vào năm 2010 và tái đắc cử vào năm 2014.
Tháng 1/2011, Kamala Harris tuyên thệ nhậm chức Tổng chưởng lý California sau khi giành chiến thắng trước đối thủ Steve Cooley. Bà nắm giữ chức vụ này trong 6 năm rồi nhường lại vị trí cho Xavier Becerra.
Kamala Harris từng là thượng nghị sĩ Hoa Kỳ đại diện cho California từ năm 2017 đến năm 2021. Harris đã đánh bại Loretta Sanchez trong cuộc bầu cử Thượng viện năm 2016 để trở thành người phụ nữ Mỹ gốc Phi thứ hai và là người Mỹ gốc Nam Á đầu tiên phục vụ tại Thượng viện Hoa Kỳ.
Harris tham gia tranh cử tổng thống cho đảng Dân chủ vào năm 2020, nhưng đã rút lui trước cuộc bầu cử sơ bộ. Ông Joe Biden chọn bà làm đồng tranh cử với mình vào tháng 8 năm 2020, và họ đã giành chiến thắng trong cuộc tổng tuyển cử vào tháng 11. Bà nhậm chức phó tổng thống Hoa Kỳ vào ngày 20 tháng 1 năm 2021, Bà là nữ phó tổng thống Mỹ đầu tiên, cũng là người da màu gốc Nam Á đầu tiên vươn tới chức vụ này.
Phó Tổng thống Mỹ Kamala Harris (Ảnh: Getty).
"Mặc dù tôi có thể là người phụ nữ đầu tiên giữ vị trí này, nhưng tôi sẽ không phải là người cuối cùng", bà Kamala Harris từng nhấn mạnh trong một bài phát biểu hồi tháng 11/2020 sau khi liên danh tranh cử Joe Biden - Kamala Harris giành chiến thắng trong cuộc bầu cử tổng thống Mỹ.
Với lễ tuyên thệ nhậm chức vào ngày 20/1/2021, nữ cựu Thượng nghị sĩ bang California đã làm nên lịch sử với tư cách là người phụ nữ đầu tiên và cũng là người phụ nữ da màu đầu tiên trở thành Phó Tổng thống Mỹ.
Bà Harris, sinh ngày 20/10/1964 với tên đầy đủ là Kamala Devi Harris, là con của những người nhập cư đến Mỹ. Mẹ bà, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, là người nhập cư từ Ấn Độ. Còn cha bà, ông Donald Haris, là một giáo sư kinh tế người Mỹ gốc Jamaica.
Bà Harris lớn lên với sự ảnh hưởng sâu sắc của người mẹ gốc Ấn và nền tảng tư duy từ cha mình. Trong suốt quá trình tranh cử, bà Harris thường xuyên đề cập đến việc các hoạt động đấu tranh vì nhân quyền của cha mẹ đã ảnh hưởng tới bà như thế nào.
Nữ chính trị gia Mỹ luôn bày tỏ tình cảm dành cho mẹ, người đã dặn dò bà tiếp tục truyền cảm hứng cho nhiều người khác. Bà luôn ghi nhớ lời của mẹ: "Kamala, con có thể trở thành người đầu tiên trong nhiều việc, nhưng hãy luôn chắc chắn rằng con không phải là người cuối cùng".
Sau khi tốt nghiệp Đại học Howard năm 1986 và Đại học Luật Hastings thuộc Viện Đại học California vào năm 1989, bà Harris làm việc tại văn phòng công tố quận Alameda với vị trí trợ lý luật sư. Từ đây, bà đã bắt đầu theo đuổi sự nghiệp chính trị.
Bà Harris đã phục vụ trong nhiều vị trí công khác nhau tại California. Bà là một trong những nhân vật chính trị nổi bật tại bang này và cũng là một trong những thành viên được yêu thích của đảng Dân chủ trong các cuộc thăm dò dư luận trước cuộc bầu cử tổng thống năm 2020.
Trong suốt sự nghiệp chính trị, bà Harris đã phá vỡ những rào cản để làm nên lịch sử như: chưởng lý da màu đầu tiên của hạt San Francisco, tổng chưởng lý da màu đầu tiên của bang California, người phụ nữ Mỹ gốc Phi thứ hai và gốc Nam Á đầu tiên được bầu vào Thượng viện Mỹ.
Bà Harris từng là một trong những chính trị gia của đảng Dân chủ tham gia tranh cử tổng thống Mỹ 2020 và gây tiếng vang trong giai đoạn đầu của cuộc bầu cử sơ bộ tìm ứng viên đại diện cho đảng này trong cuộc bầu cử tổng thống vào tháng 11 cùng năm. Bà đã tham gia các cuộc tranh luận trực tiếp với các ứng viên tổng đảng Dân chủ, trong đó có ông Joe Biden, trước khi tuyên bố rút lui vào tháng 12/2019.
Tháng 8/2020, bà Harris được ứng viên tổng thống đảng Dân chủ khi đó là ông Joe Biden chọn làm liên danh tranh cử. Trải qua chiến dịch tranh cử quyết liệt và cuộc bầu cử kịch tính, liên danh tranh cử Biden - Harris đã giành chiến thắng và bà Harris tiếp tục có thêm những cái "nhất" khác như người phụ nữ đầu tiên, người gốc Á đầu tiên, người gốc Phi đầu tiên trở thành Phó Tổng thống Mỹ.
Đài CNN thậm chí đặt cho bà Harris một danh xưng đầy kiêu hãnh: "Người phá vỡ mọi rào cản".
"Đó là cách tốt nhất để bắt đầu một ngày mới"
Giống bất kỳ phụ nữ nào theo đuổi sự nghiệp chính trị, bà Harris phải cân bằng cuộc sống cá nhân và lịch làm việc dày đặc. Nói về bí quyết để duy trì sự tập trung và năng lượng bất chấp lịch trình làm việc mệt mỏi, bà Harris từng chia sẻ với cựu Tổng thống Barack Obama trong một cuộc phỏng vấn đăng trên Twitter hồi tháng 9/2020: "Tôi tập thể dục mỗi sáng, bất kể ngủ sớm hay muộn. Đó là cách tốt nhất để bắt đầu một ngày mới".
Tập thể dục cũng là cách giúp bà tìm thấy sự cân bằng giữa công việc và cuộc sống. Trong cuộc phỏng vấn với Lenny Letter vào năm 2015, bà nói: "Tập thể dục buổi sáng giúp máu lưu thông".
Nấu ăn cũng là cách giúp bà Harris thư giãn.
"Tôi có thể 6 lần lên máy bay trong một tuần nhưng điều khiến tôi cảm thấy bình thường là làm bữa tối cho gia đình vào Chủ nhật", bà từng nói với trang The Cut. "Nếu tôi đang nấu ăn, tôi cảm thấy đang kiểm soát được cuộc sống của mình".
Bà Harris kết hôn với ông Douglas Emhoff, hiện là một luật sư nổi tiếng, vào năm 2014. Cặp đôi không có con chung, nhưng ông Emhoff có 2 con từ cuộc hôn nhân trước đó.
Vào những lúc nghỉ ngơi trong ngày, bà cho biết thích trò chuyện qua video với các thành viên trong gia đình. Bà Harris được hai con riêng của chồng yêu mến. Cả hai luôn gọi bà là "Momala", kết hợp giữa tên Kamala và từ "Mom" (mẹ) vì chúng không thích dùng hai chữ "mẹ kế".
"Giữ mối quan hệ thân thiết với những người trẻ và cảm nhận thế giới qua con mắt của chúng", bà từng nói.
Latest News: Kamala Harris Concedes 2024 Presidential Election
Throughout the 107 days of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the White House, polling projected a close race between the Democrat and her Republican challenger Donald Trump. By the morning of November 6, the day after election day, Americans delivered a decisive win to Trump. Harris congratulated the president-elect during a phone call and delivered her concession speech later in the day.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said before continuing, “the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.”
The 60-year-old reiterated her support for reproductive rights, the reduction of gun violence, and basic tenets of democracy—all key issues during her condensed campaign after President Joe Biden suddenly ended his reelection bid this July. A month later, Harris made history as the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major party’s ticket after accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
As she wrapped up her nearly 11-minute speech at Howard University in Washington D.C., Harris returned to one of her familiar phrases. “On the campaign, I would often say: When we fight, we win. But here’s the thing, here’s the thing, sometimes the fight takes awhile. That doesn’t mean we won’t win,” she said. “The important thing is don’t ever give up... don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.”
As of November 7, Harris earned 226 electoral college votes to Trump’s 295. Race results are still pending in Arizona and Nevada, though the president-elect leads in both battleground states and surpassed the 270-vote threshold needed to win.
Kamala Harris has served as U.S. vice president since January 2021 and is the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. A lawyer by trade, Harris rose through the California legal system and emerged as state attorney general in 2010. She became just the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, where she served for four years beginning in January 2017. Harris resigned just before assuming the vice presidency within Joe Biden’s administration. She is the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American to serve in the role. After Biden pulled out of their 2024 reelection bid in late July, Harris became the clear frontrunner and accepted the Democratic nomination a month later. She lost November’s general election to president-elect Donald Trump.
FULL NAME: Kamala Devi HarrisBORN: October 20, 1964BIRTHPLACE: Oakland, CaliforniaSPOUSE: Doug Emhoff (2014-present)CHILDREN: Cole and EllaASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra
Presidential campaign
Harris had been considered a top contender and potential front-runner for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.[152] In June 2018, she said she was "not ruling it out".[153] In July 2018, it was announced that she would publish a memoir, a sign of a possible run.[154] On January 21, 2019, Harris officially announced her candidacy for president of the United States in the 2020 presidential election.[155] In the first 24 hours after her announcement, she tied a record set by Bernie Sanders in 2016 for the most donations raised in the day after an announcement.[156][157] More than 20,000 people attended her campaign launch event in her hometown of Oakland, California, on January 27, according to a police estimate.[158]
During the first Democratic presidential debate in June 2019, Harris scolded former vice president Joe Biden for "hurtful" remarks he made, speaking fondly of senators who opposed integration efforts in the 1970s and working with them to oppose mandatory school bussing.[159] Harris's support rose by between six and nine points in polls after that debate.[160] In the second debate in August, Biden and Representative Tulsi Gabbard confronted Harris over her record as attorney general.[161] The San Jose Mercury News assessed that some of Gabbard's and Biden's accusations were on point, such as blocking the DNA testing of a death row inmate, while others did not withstand scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the debate, Harris fell in the polls.[162][163] Over the next few months her poll numbers fell to the low single digits.[164][165] Harris faced criticism from reformers for tough-on-crime policies she pursued while she was California's attorney general.[166] In 2014, she defended California's death penalty in court.[167]
Before and during her presidential campaign, an online informal organization using the hashtag #KHive formed to support Harris's candidacy and defend her from racist and sexist attacks.[168][169][170] According to the Daily Dot, Joy Reid first used the term in an August 2017 tweet saying "@DrJasonJohnson @ZerlinaMaxwell and I had a meeting and decided it's called the K-Hive."[171]
On December 3, 2019, Harris withdrew from the 2020 presidential election, citing a shortage of funds.[172] In March 2020, she endorsed Joe Biden for president.[173]
Wakil presiden (2021–sekarang)
Setelah terpilihnya Joe Biden sebagai Presiden Amerika Serikat pada pemilu 2020, Harris akan menjabat sebagai wakil presiden Amerika Serikat pada 20 Januari 2021.[268] Dia akan menjadi wakil presiden wanita pertama, serta orang kulit berwarna pertama yang memegang jabatan tersebut sejak Charles Curtis, seorang penduduk asli Amerika, yang bertugas di bawah Herbert Hoover dari 1929 hingga 1933. Dia juga akan menjadi orang ketiga dengan keturunan non-Eropa yang diakui untuk mencapai salah satu jabatan tertinggi di cabang eksekutif, setelah Curtis dan mantan Presiden Barack Obama.[269]
Harris mengundurkan diri dari kursi Senatnya pada 18 Januari 2021, dua hari sebelum pelantikannya sebagai Wakil Presiden. Ia kemudian dilantik pada 20 Januari 2021, memegang dua Alkitab pada saat pengambilan sumpah; satu dimiliki oleh Regina Shelton, seseorang yang penting baginya dan kakaknya, Maya Harris, dan Alkitab lain yang dulu dimiliki oleh mantan Hakim Agung Amerika Serikat Thurgood Marshall.
Pengambilan sumpah Kamala Harris dilakukan didepan Hakim Agung Sonia Sotomayor, yang menjadi Hakim Agung wanita pertama yang mengadministrasi pengambilan sumpah sebanyak dua kali setelah ia melakukan hal serupa dengan pengambilan sumpah Joe Biden kala ia masih menjadi Wakil Presiden Barack Obama pada 2013. Dalam pengambilan sumpahnya, ia membacakan pernyataan berikut:
Saya, Kamala Devi Harris, bersumpah dengan sungguh-sungguh bahwa saya akan mendukung dan membela Konstitusi Amerika Serikat dari semua musuh, baik asing maupun domestik; bahwa saya akan memegang teguh kesetiaan dan kesetiaan itu; bahwa saya menerima kewajiban ini dengan sukarela, tanpa ada keraguan atau maksud untuk mengelak; dan bahwa saya akan melaksanakan tugas jabatan yang akan saya emban dengan baik dan setia. [Tuhan, tolonglah saya.]
Tindakan pertamanya sebagai Wakil Presiden adalah melantik penggantinya, Alex Padilla, dan Senator Georgia Raphael Warnock dan Jon Ossoff yang terpilih dalam pemilihan putaran kedua Georgia 2021.[270]
Saat Kamala Harris mulai menjabat, Senat Amerika Serikat terbagi menjadi 50 anggota Partai Demokrat dan 50 anggota Partai Republik.[271] Ini mengartikan bahwa Kamala Harris harus dipanggil ke Senat Amerika Serikat untuk menggunakan wewenangnya untuk memberikan suara penentu sebagai presiden Senat AS. Pada tanggal 5 Februari, Kamala Harris memberikan suara penentu sebanyak dua kali. Pada bulan Februari dan Maret, peran Kamala Harris dalam memberi suara penentu dinilai sangat krusial bagi pengesahan Undang Undang Rencana Penyelamatan Amerika 2021, sebuah kebijakan stimulus ekonomi yang dicanangkan Biden, karena tidak ada Senator Partai Republik yang menyetujui UU tersebut.[272][273] Pada 20 Juli, Kamala Harris memecahkan rekor wakil presiden sebelumnya, Mike Pence dalam memberikan suara penentu pada tahun pertama sebagai wakil presiden[274] pada saat Kamala memberikan suara penentu yang ketujuh pada 6 bulan pertamanya.[275] Ia memberikan 13 suara penentu di Senat AS, memecahkan rekor sebagai wakil presiden pemberi suara penentu terbanyak dalam satu tahun sebagai wakil presiden, mengalahkan Wakil Presiden John Adams yang memberi suara penentunya pada tahun 1790 sebanyak 12 kali.[275][276] Pada 5 Desember, ia kembali memecahkan rekor sebagai wakil presiden dengan suara penentu terbanyak setelah memberikan suara penentu ke-32, mengalahkan Wakil Presiden John Calhoun yang memberi suara penentu sebanyak 31 kali selama 8 tahu menjabat sebagai Wakil Presiden Amerika Serikat.[275][277] Pada 19 November 2024, Kamala menjadi penjabat presiden dari jam 10:10 sampai 11:35 Waktu Timur saat Biden menjalankan operasi kolonoskopi.[278] Ia menjadi wanita pertama dan orang ketiga yang menjabat sebagai presiden sementara dibawah bagian 3 Amendemen Kedua Puluh Lima Konstitusi Amerika Serikat.[279][280]
Sejak awal Desember 2021, peran Kamala Harris dinilai sangat penting dalam keberlangsungan pemerintahan Joe Biden karena tugasnya dalam memberi suara penentu di Senat AS yang terbagi rata dan rumor kuat bahwa Kamala Harris bisa saja menggantikan Joe Biden dalam pemilihan umum 2024 apabila Biden tidak ingin berkontestasi sebagai petahana.[281]
Presidential Campaign
On January 21, 2019, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day interview on Good Morning America, Harris announced she was running for president in 2020. One of the top Democratic candidates, the California senator joined a field that already included Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a bid to push President Donald Trump from the White House after one term.
One week after her GMA announcement, Harris formally kicked off her campaign before an estimated 20,000 supporters at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, California. She remained near the top of the Democratic polls over the following weeks, withstanding the brouhaha that ensued when she admitted to smoking marijuana in a February interview and another when an animal rights activist confronted her onstage at a political event in June.
Harris stood out as one of the top performers of the first Democratic primary debate in late June, garnering headlines for taking Joe Biden to task over his history of opposing federal busing for school integration. During the second debate the following month, she found herself a target of attacks, with Biden and the rest criticizing her healthcare plan and aspects of her record as California attorney general.
Her support in the polls slipping by the fall of 2019, Harris sought to thrust herself back into the top tier by calling for the impeachment of Trump over his dealings with Ukraine and a focus on women’s access to reproductive health care. Meanwhile, her campaign staff reportedly bickered over strategy and the chain of command, the dysfunction noted in a resignation letter from the state operations director that became public via The New York Times.
In early December 2019, Harris announced she was ending her once-promising presidential campaign. But months later, she had another chance to make it on the Democratic ticket.
San Francisco District Attorney (2002–2011)
In 2002, Harris ran for District Attorney of San Francisco,[31] running a "forceful" campaign[32][33] and differentiating herself from Hallinan by attacking his performance.[34] Harris won the election with 56% of the vote, becoming the first person of color elected district attorney of San Francisco.[35] She ran unopposed for a second term in 2007.[36]
Within the first six months of taking office, Harris cleared 27 of 74 backlogged homicide cases.[37] She also pushed for higher bail for criminal defendants involved in gun-related crimes, arguing that historically low bail encouraged outsiders to commit crimes in San Francisco. SFPD officers credited Harris with tightening the loopholes defendants had used in the past.[38] During her campaign, Harris pledged never to seek the death penalty,[39] and kept to this in the cases of a San Francisco Police Department officer, Isaac Espinoza, who was shot and killed in 2004,[40][41] and of Edwin Ramos, an illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member who was accused of murdering a man and his two sons in 2009.[42][43]
Harris created a Hate Crimes Unit, focusing on hate crimes against LGBT children and teens in schools,[44] and supported A.B. 1160, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act.[45] As District Attorney, she created an environmental crimes unit in 2005.[46] Harris expressed support for San Francisco's sanctuary city policy of not inquiring about immigration status in the process of a criminal investigation.[47] In 2004, she created the San Francisco Reentry Division.[48] Over six years, the 200 people graduated from the program had a recidivism rate of less than 10%, compared to the 53% of California's drug offenders who returned to prison within two years of release.[49][50][51]
In 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the city's homicide rate, Harris led a citywide effort to combat truancy for at-risk elementary school youth in San Francisco.[52] In 2008, declaring chronic truancy a matter of public safety and pointing out that the majority of prison inmates and homicide victims are dropouts or habitual truants,[53] she issued citations against six parents whose children missed at least 50 days of school, the first time San Francisco prosecuted adults for student truancy.[54] Harris's office ultimately prosecuted seven parents in three years, with none jailed.[55] By April 2009, 1,330 elementary school students were habitual or chronic truants, down 23% from 1,730 in 2008, and from 2,517 in 2007 and 2,856 in 2006.[55]
Early Life: Parents and Ethnicity
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. She was raised in nearby Berkeley, then a predominantly African American neighborhood. As a toddler, she attended civil rights demonstrations and sang in a Baptist choir.
Harris’ mother, Shyamala, emigrated from India to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Harris’ Jamaican-born father, Donald. Shyamala carved out a career as a renowned breast cancer researcher, while Donald became a Stanford University economics professor. Her mother also ensured that Harris and her younger sister, Maya, maintained ties to their Indian heritage by raising them with Hindu beliefs and taking them to her home country every couple of years.
Harris’ parents divorced when she was 7 years old, and at age 12, she moved with her mother and sister to Montreal. During her time in the Canadian city, she learned to speak some French and demonstrated her burgeoning political instincts by organizing a protest against a building owner who wouldn’t allow neighborhood kids to play on the lawn.
Harris attended Westmount High School just outside of Montreal and founded a dance troupe with a friend. Returning to the States to attend Howard University in Washington D.C., she was elected to the liberal arts student council and joined the debate team en route to a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics. Harris then enrolled at the University of California Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco), where she earned her juris doctor in 1989.
After earning admittance to the State Bar of California in 1990, Harris began her career as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. She became managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in 1998, and two years later, she was appointed chief of its Community and Neighborhood Division, during which time she established the state’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice.
