Who Was Shyamala Gopalan? 6 Things To Know About Kamala Harris' Mom

While women worldwide are inspired by the United States Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, she draws her inspiration from her mother who raised two daughters by herself. Harris has, in speeches and interviews, mentioned her mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris and her impact on Kamala's upbringing.

At the party's big national convention on Thursday August 22, she had a special mention to her Indian-origin mother, Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Not just that, Kamala's sister Maya Harris shared their family's story with the convention audience.



Kamala Harris said that her mother was 19 when she crossed the seven seas alone, travelling from India to California "with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer."

"I miss her every day, and especially right now - and I know she's looking down, smiling," Harris said.

"My mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women's health, and she taught Maya and me a lesson... never complain about injustice, but DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT." - @KamalaHarris #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/2zNLyaT7cW

— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) August 23, 2024

Harris added, "I am the daughter of the mother who broke down all kinds of barriers." Harris's mother was dear to her heart and still she is- her repetitive mentions are indicative of the same fact. Even her sister Maya Harris once tweeted “You can’t know who Kamala Harris is without knowing who our mother was.”

6 Things To Know About Shyamala Gopalan Harris

• Shyamala Gopalan was a scientific researcher and a civil rights activist. She was born in Madras and left India when she was just 19.
• She studied at Delhi University and went on to do her doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology from the University of California, Berkeley.
• Gopalan was a world-renowned scientist. After her Ph.D., she stayed at UC Berkeley and became a breast cancer researcher. Kamala Harris's mother Gopalan went to various universities around the world for her research work. Some of the universities where she worked are- the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin, and McGill University in Montreal.
• Shyamala brought her two daughters- Maya and Kamala to Canada. Kamala lived in Canada from age 12 until high school graduation.
• Gopalan met with her husband Donal J. Harris in a protest on the streets of Oakland in the 1960s. Later in the 1970s, the two got divorced when Kamala Harris was 7. After her separation, she continued to fight for racial equality. Gopalan mentored students of colour, counselled African-American women battling breast cancer and powered up political activism in her daughters.
• Gopalan passed away at 70 in 2009 succumbing to cancer, but even after her death, her daughters made sure to continue their mother's legacy in and around their lives.