Celebrating the New V.P. Candidate!

By Tanu Henry

“Black women and women of color have long been underrepresented in elected office and in November we have an opportunity to change that. Let’s get to work,” Harris tweeted about three hours before Biden’s announcement. 

Before she was elected Senator in 2016, Harris served as Attorney General of California for six years, beginning in 2011. Before that, she served as District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011. 

Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, lives in Los Angeles with her husband, attorney Douglas Emhoff. If the Democrats win, Harris will make history as the first Black and Asian woman to be selected as a vice presidential candidate in the United States on a major political party’s presidential ticket. 

“Senator Kamala Harris has been an incredible leader and an inspiration for so many of us, and I’m proud to call her a friend and mentor,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed wrote on Facebook. 

“I’m thrilled that Vice President Biden had the vision to recognize that Senator Harris can bring the integrity, intelligence, and commitment to justice for all that our country so badly needs during this difficult time,” Breed continued. “I know how much it means to have leaders who reflect the people they represent, and today I’m thinking about all those little girls in this country that will see a strong, principled woman walk into the White House and know that they too can make that same journey someday.” 

Harris earned her BA at Howard University in Washington, DC, and her JD at the University of California, Hastings.