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In March, presidential candidate Joe Biden committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. He received a lot of encouragement to choose a woman “of color” (which means any color, as long as it’s not white).

On Monday of this week, more than 100 Black men signed an open letter to Joe Biden urging him to pick a Black woman as his vice president, writing that “failing to select a Black woman in 2020 means you will lose the election.”

And yesterday, Biden announced he was choosing Kamala Harris to join him on the ticket as candidate for Vice President of the United States. She becomes the first “woman of color” to run for that office.

Biden and Harris had some prickly exchanges when she was a candidate for president. You might remember her big moment during the debates when she confronted Biden about his past views on segregation and busing.

“I do not believe you are a racist.”  She said, BUT and there was a BIG but…  “but I also believe — and it is personal, and it was actually very hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputation and career on the segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing. And you know, there was a little girl in California who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.”

Further, Harris blasted Biden for his record of “inappropriately touching” women. At a campaign event last April, Harris said she believes women who say they felt uncomfortable after receiving unwanted touching from the former Veep.

“I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it.”

So, we can assume all the hypocrisy hatchets will be buried from now until November.

In the meantime, here are 4 fast facts about Kamala.

1. It’s pronounced KAM-a-la

And apparently, if you don’t pronounce her name correctly, it’s disrespectful.
Last night on his eponymous show, Tucker Carlson repeatedly pronounced “Ka-MAL-a,” stressing the second syllable during an interview with Democratic political consultant Richard Goodstein.

“This is something that will serve you and your fellow Fox News hosts,” said Goodstein, as he explained to Carlson how to properly pronounce her name.

Carlson responded,”OK. So what?”

“I think out of respect for someone who’s going to be on the national ticket, pronouncing her name right is kind of a bare minimum,” Goodstein replied.

Carlson responded, “So I’m disrespecting her by mispronouncing her intentionally? So it begins. You’re not allowed to criticize Ka-MAL-a Harris, or KAM-a-la.

So now you know.

2. She is the daughter of immigrants.

Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan emigrated from Tamil Nadu, India in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at UC Berkeley. Her father, Donald Harris, a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics, emigrated from British Jamaica in 1961 for graduate study in economics at UC Berkeley.

Harris grew up in Berkeley, CA with her younger sister, Maya Harris and attended both a black Baptist church and a Hindu temple. Her mother named her “Kamala Devi” for religious reasons, with both names coming from Hindu mythology. “Kamala” is Sanskrit for “lotus” and “Devi” is Sanskrit for “goddess” and the name of the female deity who protects villages.

Her parents divorced when she was 7, and at the age of 12, she moved with her mother and sister to Canada, where she remained through her high school graduation.

3. Her husband is Jewish.

Harris met her husband, attorney Douglas Emhoff, in 2013 when she was the attorney general in California. A mutual friend set them up on a blind date. They hit it off immediately and were married in 2014. During the ceremony, they smashed a glass to honor Emhoff’s upbringing.

It was Emhoff’s second marriage. He has two adult children from his first marriage, Cole and Ella.

Apparently, they call Kamala, “Momala” — a play on her name and the Yiddish word mamaleh, an endearing term for little mother.

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Family Selfie!

A post shared by Douglas Emhoff (@douglasemhoff) on

4. Her political career was launched when her boyfriend gave her a big appointment

In the 1990’s Harris was dating 60-year-old Willie Brown, at the time the Democratic speaker of the California State Assembly. He was 30 years her senior. Brown was a flamboyant politician who has also served as mayor of San Francisco. Brown appointed her to the California Medical Assistance Commission in 1994, a position she held until1998. At the time, Brown’s decision to appoint Harris raised eyebrows. Brett Granlund, a former California Republican state assemblyman who worked closely with the commission while Harris was on the board said the appointment seemed brazen at the time because of the relationship between Harris and Brown.

“Screwing the speaker has its rewards,” he said. “Stevie Wonder could have seen through that play.”

:-0

Political life is not for the faint of heart. But from what we’ve seen so far, Kamala Harris, can hold her own.