"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," said Vice-President Kamala Harris after she had won the election as running mate to Joe Biden. Biden-Harris' win was special because it was a story of many firsts. Equally special is Harris' acknowledgement of her mother's role in shaping her life. “There is no title or honour on earth I’ll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris’s daughter. That is the truth I hold dearest of all," Harris wrote in her memoir The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.
Hearing Harris speak about her breast cancer researcher mother, who was a single parent, is not just emotional but empowering. All mother-daughter relationships are special but theirs is unique.
Comments from Shyamala Gopalan That All Moms Should Say To Their Daughters.
On Facing the World
“She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident black women.”
On Facing Racism
“You are Indian; you are Black. You don’t have to prove that you’re one or the other.”
Compassionate
"Even as she taught us to keep our family at the centre of our world, she also pushed us to see a world beyond ourselves."
Give Back
"My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning."
Fight for Justice
"She taught us to be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people. To believe public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility."
Old Fashioned Values
My mother taught us the importance of a good education.
She taught us the good old-fashioned value of hard work.
She taught us don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.
She taught us not only to dream but to do.
She taught us to believe in our power to right what is wrong.
Be the Change
"I am voting for people like my mother, Shyamala, who taught my sister and me that if you see a problem, you don't complain about it: you do something about it. It’s because of her that I know change is possible when we put in the work.
The Shymala Gopalan Story
Shyamala Gopalan defied all odds and moved to the US to fulfil her academic interests. At 19, this move was a pathbreaking and life-altering step. She studied endocrinology at Berkeley. She fell in love with Donald Harris a man of colour, and got married. Both of them were involved in the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. She was a singer of the Carnatic style of music and occasionally sang on local radio stations. Gopalan passed away due to complications from colon cancer in 2009. She was 70.
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