Kamala Harris : Phenomenal Woman

‘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, 2021

On 22 July 2024, Kamala Harris, the 49th and incumbent Vice President of the United States, announced her campaign for President. She was the first person of Indian descent, and the first woman to be sworn in as Vice President in 2021. This was hardly surprising, for Kamala – the daughter of an Indian mother, a breast-cancer scientist, and a Jamaican father, a Stanford University emeritus professor – 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. It explores her Asian and Jamaican heritage – with special attention to her India connect – and celebrates her barrier-shattering ascent as a woman of colour in the race to occupy one of the highest offices in the US.

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 the inspirational story of a phenomenal woman.