Kamala Harris took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, August 19. In her speech, the US Senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee emphasised the importance of her family in shaping her overall outlook as a person and as a leader.
“She raised us (Harris and sister, Maya,) to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage. She taught us to put family first—the family you’re born into and the family you choose,” said Harris referring to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris.
As the speech went on, Harris spoke about what family means to her. She said, “Family is my uncles, my aunts, and my chithis”.
Harris’ mention of her ‘chithis’, which means aunt in Tamil, created quite a buzz on Twitter. Indian born American author and TV host, Padma Lakshmi shared her positive thoughts on this remark from her official Twitter account. Her tweet received over almost 5,000 retweets and nearly 1,000 comments.
Here are some other reactions to Harris’ mention of her ‘chithis’ from the micro-blogging platform. One person said, “Thanks for the context,” under Lakshmi’s post.
{{/usCountry}}Here are some other reactions to Harris’ mention of her ‘chithis’ from the micro-blogging platform. One person said, “Thanks for the context,” under Lakshmi’s post.
{{/usCountry}}An individual wrote, “Watching Kamala Harris speak with such pride about her South Indian mom, while I sit next to my Amma, and my nephew who calls me Chithi, is so special”. “Wow, I heard ‘Chithi’ during a convention speech in the US. How great is that! #Tamil,” read a tweet.
A Twitter user proclaimed, “Kamala Harris used chithi in her DNC speech, Tamilians rise up”.
Check out some more reactions from tweeple:
You can watch Harris’ almost 20-minute-long speech on YouTube.
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