Who was Shyamala Gopalan? Kamala Harris honours ‘brilliant’ mother in emotional DNC speech

Earning her doctorate by the age of 25, Shyamala Gopalan went on to become a prominent breast cancer researcher.

Kamala Harris paid an emotional tribute to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention. Calling her a “brilliant woman,” the vice president honoured Gopalan in an empowering speech Thursday night. The Democratic presidential nominee was filled with emotions as she recalled her mother's impactful journey before her passing in 2009.

FILE - San Francisco's new district attorney, Kamala Harris, right, with her mother Dr. Shyamala Gopalan holding a copy of The Bill of Rights, receives the oath of office from California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George, left, during inauguration ceremonies, Jan. 8, 2004, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin, File) (AP)

Who was Shyamala Gopalan Harris?

Gopalan played a major role in establishing Harris' connection to her Indian heritage. She was born and raised in the Indian city of Chennai (then Madras) before relocating to California. Earning her doctorate by the age of 25, she went on to become a prominent breast cancer researcher.

“My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakable dream,” Harris said during her keynote address, adding, “She taught us to never complain about injustice but to do something about it.”

Following her move to the US, Gopalan enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Harris’ father, Donald Harris. The couple married in 1963 and divorced in 1971. Following their separation, Gopalan raised her two daughters, Kamala and Maya.

“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,” Harris said.

Recounting her mother's struggles with racism as a person of colour, Harris said, “My mother was a brilliant 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. As the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool.”