Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris was the first Black and Indian American to be sworn in as a United States Senator for California, and has spent her life fighting injustice. Kamala grew up in Oakland, graduated from Howard University, and then received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings. She then began her career fighting for working families in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. There she focused on prosecuting child sexual assault cases. Kamala has always stood up for what she believes in and advocated for those who were not able to defend themselves.
In 2003, Kamala became the first Black woman elected as San Francisco’s District Attorney. In this position, Harris started a program that offered first-time drug offenders the opportunity to earn their high school diploma and find employment. In 2010, after completing two terms as the District Attorney of San Francisco, Kamala was the first Black woman to be elected California Attorney General. Overseeing the country’s second largest Justice Department, she managed a 4735 million budget and oversaw over 4,800 attorney’s and employees. Over the course of nearly two terms, Kamala won a $20 billion settlement for California homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis. She also defended California’s landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, helped win marriage equality, prosecuted transnational gangs that trafficked guns, drugs, and human beings. Kamala’s mission remains the same in the United States Senate. She continues to fight for the rights of people from all communities. Since taking office she has introduced and cosponsored legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15, reform our broken criminal justice system, make healthcare a right for all Americans, and expand access to childcare for working parents.
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