Published 11:44 IST, August 12th 2020
Kamala Harris' sister Maya remembers Indian-born mother Shyamala Gopalan post Biden's pick
Remembering their late mother, Maya Harris, sister of US Senator Kamala Harris said that 'you can’t know who Kamala is without knowing who our mother was'
- World News
- 2 min read
Remembering their late mother, Maya Harris, the sister of US Senator Kamala Harris who is the newly announced Democratic Vice President nominee, said that 'you can’t know who Kamala Harris is without knowing who our mother was'.
Taking to Twitter, Maya fondly remembered their mother Shyamala Gopalan by sharing a video where her sister Kamala is talking about her. "Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today. #BidenHarris2020", she wrote in her tweet.
"My mother who raised me and my sister was a proud woman. She was a brown woman. She was a woman with a heavy accent. She was a woman, who many times people would overlook her or not take her seriously. Or because of her accent assumed things about her intelligence. Now every time my mother proved them wrong. Everytime she proved them wrong. And because of who my mother was and what she believed, what she had the ability to dream was possible and then work to make possible, the fact that my mother never asked anyone permission", Harris says in the video.
About Shyamala Gopalan
Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan was an Indian-American cancer researcher and civil rights activist. Shewas born on April 7, 1938, in the city of Madras (now Chennai) in India to Rajam and PV Gopalan. Gopalan married Donald Harris (originally from Jamaica), who later was a professor of economics at Stanford. Both were involved in the civil rights movement. They got divorced when their daughter Kamala was 7 years old. Gopalan worked as a breast cancer researcher at the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin. Gopalan also served on the President's Special Commission on Breast Cancer.
Biden picks Harris to be his running mate
On Tuesday, US Presidential nominee Joe Biden has picked California Senator Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate. She will be the first African American nominated for Vice President by a major party. Biden said he picked a fearless fighter for the little guy.
"I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate", Biden said in his tweet.
Updated 11:44 IST, August 12th 2020
