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Who is Maya Harris? Kamala Harris’ sister stuns audience with her DNC appearance, reflects on mother's journey
Maya Harris stunned the audience with her surprising appearance at the DNC, supporting her elder sister Kamala Harris' 2024 presidency bid.
Maya Harris, a lawyer and public policy advocate, stunned the audience with her surprising appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), supporting her elder sister Kamala Harris' 2024 presidency bid.
Maya kicked off her speech by discussing the values their late Indian-origin mother, Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris, instilled into them.
Kamala Harris says she ‘miss her’ mother everyday as Maya reflects on mom's journey
Not just Maya, even Kamala too paid tribute to her mother, who she said was 19 years old when she crossed the seven seas alone and arrived in California from India. The US VP said she entered America “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,” the Democrat said.
“When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister, Maya, and me,” she added.
Recalling how their mother immigrated to the US from India in search of a better life, Maya said it was their mother who pushed them to be “the authors of our own stories.”
“Mommy's journey, and the opportunity that she wanted for Kamala and me - that's a distinctly American story,” she stated.
She added that their late mother would express her pride in Kamala if she were present here at DNC. Then, “without missing a beat, she'd say, 'That's enough. You've got work to do.'”
Maya claimed that Kamala, like many Americans, is familiar with what it's like to be the underdog in the United States. Taking a jab at Donald Trump, She remarked, “Where others want to drag us back to the past. My sister says, hold up we are not going back.”
“Kamala knows what it's like to be underestimated and be counted out. She knows what it's like to be the underdog, and yet still beat the odds, and now she has created so much electricity, so much optimism, so much joy throughout the nation. And it is why we need her leadership in this historic moment,” Maya concluded.
Who is Maya Harris?
Maya Harris, the younger sister of Kamala, was born two years after the US VP.
57-year-old Maya is the sole sibling of her sister Kamala. She is a writer, speaker, policy advocate, and attorney who served as head of Kamala's presidential campaign in 2020. Maya went on to work as a national surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket after her Kamala was selected as Joe Biden's running mate. She also served as a key advisor to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016. Maya and her spouse, Tony West, reside in both California and New York.
Internet reacts at Maya Harris' DNC appearance
Reacting to Maya's DNC appearance, one X user wrote: “So I just fell in love with Maya Harris and I'm ready to call her the First Sister.”
“She is an inspiration to us all,” another wrote.
“Their mother knew just what she was doing when she raised such fine intelligent poised classy women!” a third user wrote.
While some called her “beautiful”, others hailed her for being a great speaker at DNC.
“She was most impressive and a natural speaker. I enjoyed seeing her watching her sister as she gave the most important speech of her life,” one more user reacted.
