Kamala Harris: Didn't Make It To White House As First Woman President, But Inspired Hope

Washington: More than a dece ago, a journalist described Kamala Harris as a "female Obama". On Wednesday, that promise of blazing a trail to White House as first woman US president came to ught for doughty daughter of Black and Indian immigrant parents.

Democratic leer's defeat to her Republican rival Donald Trump in a bitterly contested election shattered that dream. But her mination has given hope to women that this door in public life is t closed to m.

Breaking Barriers as Vice President and Attorney

Harris, 60, has kwn or firsts, though. She has been district attorney for San Francisco -- first woman, first African-American and first Indian-origin person to be elected to position. As vice president, she is first woman to hold post. Also, she happens to be first African-American or Indian-American person to make it re.

Remembering Her Roots and Herit

In an Op-ed published three days before vember 5 election, Harris recollected her frequent visit to India as a child and remembered her late mor, Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist.

"Growing up, my mor raised my sister and me to appreciate and hour our herit. Nearly every or year, we would go to India for Diwali . We would spend time with our grandparents, our uncles, and our ‘chitthis’ (aunts)," Harris said in article for Juggernaut, an online South Asian publication.

She said she believes Americans want a president who works for all American people. "And that has been story of my entire career," she said.

A Bid for Presidency and Democratic Leership

Harris got her big chance when President Joe Biden abandoned his own bid for reelection in July following his poor performance in a nationally televised debate with Trump. Biden endorsed Harris as party minee in election.

Her mination fulfilled her presidential dreams, which she abandoned before primaries in 2019 due to a lack of funds to continue her campaign. Biden picked her as his running mate in 2016. She was just third woman to be picked as vice president minee on a major party ticket.

Breaking Through as a Woman of Color in Senate

And she was one of only three Asian Americans in Senate and first Indian-American ever to serve in chamber. She has been likened to Barack Obama, country’s first Black President. More than a dece ago, journalist Gwen Ifill called Harris " female Barack Obama" on "Late Show With David Letterman". Later, a small businessman from Willoughby, Tony Pinto, called her "a young, female version of president".

She is considered close to Obama, who endorsed her in various elections, including that for US Senate in 2016, Vice President in 2020 and presidential election in 2024.

A Multicultural Upbringing and Strong Family Influence

Harris was born to two immigrant parents: a Black far and an Indian mor. Her far, Donald Harris, is from Jamaica, and her mor, Shyamala Gopalan, migrated to US from Chennai in 1958. She, however, defines herself simply as “American”.

After her parents divorced, Harris was raised primarily by her Hindu mor. She says that her mor opted Black culture and immersed her two daughters -- Kamala and her younger sister Maya -- in it. Harris grew up embracing her Indian culture but living a proudly African American life.

"My mor understood very well that she was raising two black daughters," she wrote in her autobiography ‘ Truths We Hold’. "She knew that her opted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women." 

Education, Career, and Rising Fame in Politics

Harris was born in Oakland and grew up in Berkeley. She spent her high school years living in French-speaking Cana -- her mor was teaching at McGill University in Montreal. "Harris was raised in a middle-class family by a working mor who taught her to believe in promise of America. Her mor also taught her value of hard work, bringing Kamala to her breast cancer research lab and showing her how to clean test tubes as a child," according to Harris campaign website.

She attended college in US, spending four years at Howard University, which she has described as among most formative experiences of her life. After Howard, she went on to earn her law degree at University of California, Hastings and began her career at Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

She became top prosecutor for San Francisco in 2003 before being elected first woman and first Black person to serve as California's attorney general in 2010, top lawyer in America's most populous state.

Senate Legacy and Legislative Efforts

In her nearly two terms in office as attorney general, Harris gained a reputation as one of rising stars of Democratic Party. In 2017, she was sworn into US Senate, where she championed legislation to fight hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, expand access to capital for small businesses, revitalise America’s infrastructure, and combat climate crisis.

Personal Life and Powerful Role as Vice President

Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer, for past 10 years. She is stepmor of two children, Ella and Cole, who are her "endless source of love and pure joy." Her role as vice president was more than just symbolic. Unlike her predecessors, she wielded considerable power during Biden’s presidency.

As president of Senate, she set a new record for most tie-breaking votes cast by a Vice President in history – surpassing one that h stood for nearly 200 years. And her votes have been consequential.