Historical Figure
Kamala Harris
b. 1964
Vice President of the United States from 2021 to 2025
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"CADEM Convention Address" — April 2013
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Biography
Kamala Devi Harris is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and first Asian American vice president, and the highest-ranking female and Asian public official in U.S. history. Harris represented California in the United States Senate from 2017 to 2021 and was the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
Timeline
The story of Kamala Harris, told in moments.
Elected District Attorney of San Francisco. She's the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American to hold the office. She runs against her former boss. He endorses someone else. She wins anyway.
Elected Attorney General of California. Wins by fewer than 1% of votes. She's the first woman and first person of color in the job. She takes on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis and secures $20 billion in relief for homeowners.
Sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States. The first woman, first Black person, and first person of South Asian descent to hold the office. Justice Sonia Sotomayor administers the oath. She uses two Bibles.
President Biden withdraws from the 2024 race and endorses her. She becomes the Democratic nominee within days. The general election campaign lasts barely three months.
In Their Own Words (20)
Our economy cannot fully recover unless women can participate fully. I believe, I think we all believe, this is a national emergency — women leaving the workforce in these numbers is a national emergency, which demands a national solution.
""Kamala Harris: Women Are Facing A National Emergency", Huffington Post, (February 18, 2021), 2021
I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.
June 7th 2021 press conference in Guatemala City, as quoted in uatemalans-not-to-migrate-to-the-united-states “Kamala Harris Tells Guatemalans Not To Migrate To The United States”, by Brian Naylor & Tamara Keith, NPR, (June 7, 2021), 2021
Injustice is a root cause of migration. And in particular, it is causing the people of the region to leave their homes involuntarily.
May 2021 Washington meeting with exiled Guatemalan jurists; “VP Harris meets with Guatemalan justice leaders before visit”, by Sonia Pérez D. and Gisela Salomon; AP News, (May 19, 2021), 2021
The science behind climate change is not a hoax. The science behind COVID-19 is not partisan. And President-elect Joe Biden and I will not only listen to the science—we will invest in it and the next generation of scientists.
Twitter, (16 January 2021), 2021
We’ve got a president of the United States who is so obsessed with what is in his personal best interest … to the pain and the demise of the people who he is in office to represent. So, we need a new president. There is no question about that.
"RS Intervie Special Edition’ With Sen. Kamala Harris, Jamil Smith", Rolling Stone, (23 April 2020), 2020
Artifacts (15)
Kamala Speaks: The Official Autobiography of WWE Wrestler James KAMALA Harris
"The Ugandan Giant" Kamala is a former WWE superstar wrestler who never spoke once during his 30 year wrestling career. Kamala wrestled in every major promotion in the world. Having wrestled the likes...
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