At the age of 25, Shyamala Gopalan completed her PhD and went on to become a well-known breast cancer researcher.
On the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris gave a moving homage to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan. In an inspiring address on Thursday night, the vice president honored Gopalan, referring to her as a “brilliant woman.” The Democratic presidential candidate was overcome with emotion as she talked about the significant trip her mother had before dying away in 2009.
Who was Shyamala Gopalan Harris?
Gopalan was crucial in helping Harris make the connection to her Indian roots. Before moving to California, she was born and reared in Chennai, which was then known as Madras in India. At the age of 25, she completed her PhD and went on to become a well-known breast cancer researcher.
In her keynote speech, Harris remarked, “My mother was 19 when she traveled alone across the world, from India to California with an unwavering dream. She taught us to never complain about injustice but to do something about it.”
Gopalan met Donald Harris, the father of Harris, when she enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley after moving to the US. 1963 saw the couple’s marriage end in divorce in 1971. Gopalan reared her two kids, Kamala and Maya, after their divorce.
“As luck would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a Jamaican student, before returning home to a typical arranged marriage after graduation. My sister, Maya, and I were formed by their act of self-determination when they fell in love and got married, Harris added.
Harris narrated how her mother battled prejudice as a person of color, saying, “My mother was a brilliant 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent.” Being the oldest kid, I witnessed how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool.”
