Learn fun information about our 1st female Vice President Kamala Harris with these Kamala Harris Facts for Kids.
Who is Kamala Harris?
Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20th, 1964 in Oakland California. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan was from India and worked as a biomedical scientist. She conducted research on breast cancer. Her father Donald Harris was from Jamaica and taught economic at Stanford University. Kamala has one sister named Maya Harris and no brothers.
Kamala’s parents met while in grad school at UC Berkely in California. They were both supportive of the civil rights movements and used to bring Kamala to protests when she was very young.
The Meaning of the Name Kamala
In her Indian heritage, the name Kamala means “The Lotus Goddess.” The name Kamala is another name for the Goddess Lakshmi who is the goddess of wealth, power, good luck, and safety.
Early Life of Kamala Harris
As a child, Kamala visited India. Her grandfather was a government official and her grandmother was an activist. Kamala looked up to her grandparents.
When Kamala was 7 years old her parents got divorced. Kamala and her sister Mayta moved to Montreal Quebec Canada with her mother. She finished grade school and high school in Canada.
After graduation, she attended Howard University in Washington D.C. Kamala majored in political science and economics. She joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
When she graduated from Howard University, Kamala went to the University of California Hastings College for Law.
Professional Career of Kamala Harris
In 1989 Kamala became a lawyer. She worked for the District Attorney’s Office of Alameda California in 1990. She left that office to work at the District Attorney Office in San Francisco.
Kamala ran for District Attorney in 2003. She won and in 2004 she was elected District Attorney in San Francisco.
In 2010 Kamala ran for Attorney General. She won becoming the first African American woman to be elected Attorney General in California. She was re-elected as Attorney General in 2014.
2014 was a great year for Kamala as she married Attorney Douglas Emhoff. Kamala has no children of her own. She became a step-mother to Douglas’s children Cole and Ella from a previous relationship. They call Kamala “Momala” which is a combination of her name Kamala and mom.
In 2016 Kamala ran for state Senate and won. She became the 2nd African American woman and 1st woman of Asian descent to serve as a U.S senator.
Presidential Hopeful
On January 21, 2019, Kamala announced that she was running for president in the 2020 election. She ended her presidential run in December 2019 after reports of low numbers in the polls.
On August 11th, 2020 Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate.
In November 2020 it was announced that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Kamala Harris will be the first female to serve as vice president. She will also be the first African American and person of Asian descent to serve as vice president.
Kamala Harris Fun Facts
- Kamala wrote three books
- One children’s book called Superheroes Everywhere
- The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, The Truths We Hold: Young Readers Addition
- Smart on Crime
- She was the first African-American and first South Asian American to become Attorney General of Calfornia.
- Kamala was the first South Asian-American Attorney General in the United States.
- Kamala was the 1st person of Indian American to serve as a United States Senator.
- She was the second African American woman to serve as a United States Senator.