Kamala Harris

‘We not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon … We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up.’ – Kamala Harris; Inauguration night address

On 20 January 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America, making her the first person of Indian descent, and the first woman to reach this position. This was hardly surprising, for Kamala – the daughter of a breast-cancer scientist Indian mother and a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics Jamaican father – has been known to blaze a trail for herself in her chosen fields.

Fun ‘momala’ and aunt at home but hard-nosed, unsparing prosecutor and senator elsewhere, Kamala dons many hats. This biography focuses on the micro-histories that shaped Kamala Harris and celebrates her Asian and Jamaican heritage – with special attention to her India connect – and her barrier-shattering ascent as a woman of colour coming to occupy one of the highest offices in the USA.

Chidanand Rajghatta’s masterful chronicling of Kamala’s life – her rise to candidature, the struggles and triumph in a messy, hard-won election despite coming from a ‘non-traditional’ background – delivers an inspirational story of a phenomenal woman.