Where were Vice President Kamala Harris’ parents born? Family history of the presidential candidate
Donald Trump has falsely claimed that his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris ‘happened to turn black’. Here’s a look into Harris’ parents’ background.
Former president Donald Trump has cast doubt on the identity of his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to become the official Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States.
The Republican baselessly claimed that Harris has changed her identity, going from being of Indian descent to being black.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” the former president said at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.
On this subject, Harris said, “It was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth.”
Following Trump’s statements, many are wondering where Harris’s parents come from. Here is the family history of the vice president.
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Where were Kamala Harris’ parents born?
The vice president’s father, Donald Harris, was born in Jamaica. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in South India. Both moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where they met. Harris was born in Oakland, California.
Donald Harris, 85, is an economist, while Gopalan was a breast cancer researcher. Kamala's mother died of cancer at age 70 in 2009.
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In addition to their studies, the Gopalan-Harris couple was noted for fighting for civil rights and social justice. In her memoir, the vice president reveals that her parents often pushed her in a stroller to civil rights marches.
Harris’ parents married in 1963 and had two daughters: Kamala, born in 1964, and Maya, born in 1967. However, when the now vice president was 5 years old, the two separated. They divorced a few years later.