‘Black and proud’: Kamala Harris has never shied away from racial identity

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, is greeted by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, right, during her arrival at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, onJuly 31, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 04 August 2024
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‘Black and proud’: Kamala Harris has never shied away from racial identity

  • Kamala's mother, who emigrated from India to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology, raised her with emphasis on both her India and Black heritage
  • As a child, she was bused to a newly desegregated elementary school in a wealthier white neighborhood and attended a Black church on Sundays

WASHINGTON: Former president Donald Trump, who has a long history of making incendiary comments about race, has stepped up his attacks on his 2024 White House rival Kamala Harris by claiming she “happened to turn Black” for political advantage.
But the reality is that the vice president, the product of a mixed race marriage between Jamaican and Indian immigrants, embraced her Blackness long before embarking on a career in public service.

Harris was born in Oakland, California, in 1964, to Afro-Jamaican Donald Harris, who came to the United States to study economics, and Shyamala Gopalan, who emigrated from India at 19 to pursue her doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology.
They met at the University of California, Berkeley, a hub of student activism, while participating in the civil rights movement — and sometimes even taking a toddler Kamala along to marches.
Donald Harris remains a professor emeritus at Stanford University, while Gopalan, who helped advance breast cancer research, passed away in 2009.
After the couple divorced, Gopalan raised Kamala and her younger sister Maya, instilling pride in their South Asian roots. She took them on trips to India and often expressed affection or frustration in Tamil, Kamala wrote in her 2019 book, “The Truths We Hold.”
But Gopalan also understood she was raising two Black daughters.
“She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to ensure we grew into confident, proud Black women,” Harris wrote.
As a child, Harris was bused to a newly desegregated elementary school in a wealthier white neighborhood and attended a Black church on Sundays.
“I’m Black, and I’m proud of being Black, and I was born Black, I will die Black,” Harris told The Breakfast Club radio show in 2019.
But she’s continued to lean into her Indian heritage too, appearing in a 2019 video where she and actress Mindy Kaling, also of Indian descent, bonded over making dosas.
“She’s embraced her Blackness and her Indian heritage as well,” said Kerry Haynie, chair of political science at Duke University, adding that Trump’s “race-baiting” attacks were aimed at galvanizing his own base.

When it came time for college, Harris chose Howard University, a historically Black institution in the US capital, following in the footsteps of her hero Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice on the US Supreme Court.
She attended protests against apartheid in South Africa and joined the storied Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, founded to support Black women. Today, its 360,000 members include leading figures in politics, the arts, science and more.
“It’s a powerful signal of alignment with Black Americans,” said Christopher Clark, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After Howard, Harris enrolled at UC Hastings College of the Law, where she was elected president of the Black Law Students Association.
As she progressed through her career — elected San Francisco district attorney in 2003 and California’s attorney general in 2010 — she was consistently identified as Black or African American in media reports.
Some went so far as to dub her the “female Obama” after Barack Obama, who was elected the nation’s first Black president in 2008.
Their biographies have parallels: both are biracial, with Obama’s father a Kenyan economist and his mother a white American.
Critics questioned the authenticity of his African American experience, and Trump may be using a similar tactic to try to discredit Harris, suggested Clark.
However, being Black in America has always been a “very broad umbrella” due to the legacy of slavery, wrote Teresa Wiltz in a Politico op-ed, encompassing “myriad iterations of skin color and hair texture and life experiences.”
The most important Black political figures in US history have often been of mixed race, from abolitionist Frederick Douglass to activist-philosopher Angela Davis, Wiltz noted.
If Harris identifies as Black, “we can — and should — take her word for it,” she said.


South Korea tightens security for opposition leader over suspected plot, Yonhap reports

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South Korea tightens security for opposition leader over suspected plot, Yonhap reports

  • Move comes after the Democratic Party had last week urged police to ramp up security for Lee Jae-myung
  • Some main opposition party lawmakers were tipped off about an assassination plot targeting Lee
SEOUL: South Korean police started on Tuesday providing additional security for the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, after lawmakers had warned of a potential assassination plot targeting Lee Jae-myung, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
The move comes after the party had last week urged police to ramp up security for Lee after some of its lawmakers said they were tipped off about an assassination plot against him.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In January last year, Lee was stabbed in the neck by a man who lunged at him with a knife after asking for his autograph.
The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to media reports.
Tensions have been running high in South Korea since President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law last December, triggering the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
His martial law imposition and its fallout have widened deep social rifts between conservatives and liberals and put pressure on institutions.
Yoon faces a criminal trial on charges of insurrection, while the Constitutional Court is also expected to rule in coming days on whether to uphold his impeachment and permanently strip him of his powers.
Police have been preparing for the risk of clashes, with both Yoon’s supporters and his opponents are due to hold large rallies when the court makes its decision.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok repeated on Tuesday a call for citizens to accept and respect the court’s ruling.
Hundreds of Yoon supporters stormed a court building in January after his detention was extended, smashing windows and other items, an attack the acting leader called “unimaginable.”

Bangladesh rebukes US spy chief over religious violence remarks

Updated 15 min 7 sec ago
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Bangladesh rebukes US spy chief over religious violence remarks

  • Washington’s intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard arrived this week for a diplomatic trip to India
  • New Delhi has repeatedly accused its Muslim-majority neighbor of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens

DHAKA: Bangladesh has rebuked Washington’s intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard, saying her comments on religious violence in the South Asian country were unfounded and risked fanning sectarian tensions.
Gabbard arrived this week for a diplomatic trip to India, whose relations with Bangladesh have soured since a student-led uprising overthrew the latter nation’s government last year.
New Delhi has repeatedly accused its Muslim-majority neighbor of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens – charges denied by the caretaker administration now in charge.
But Gabbard appeared to give credence to the claims when she was asked about violence in Bangladesh during a Monday interview with Indian broadcaster NDTV.
“The long-time unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities... have been a major area of concern for the US government,” she said in response.
She added that the issue, along with Islamist extremism, remained “central focus areas of concern” and said the Trump administration has already raised them with the Bangladeshi government.
Bangladesh responded in a statement late Monday that Gabbard’s comments were both “misleading” and “damaging” to the country’s image and reputation.
“Political leaders and public figures should base their statements, especially on sensitive issues, on actual knowledge and take care not to reinforce harmful stereotypes, fan fears, or potentially stoke sectarian tensions,” the statement said.
Hindus make up about eight percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people.
In the chaotic days following the August ouster of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, there was a string of attacks on Hindus – seen by some as having backed her rule.
The caretaker government that replaced her has insisted that many of those attacks were motivated by politics rather than religion.
It has also accused India’s media and government of spreading disinformation exaggerating threats to Bangladeshi Hindus.
Gabbard met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last month soon after her confirmation as director of national intelligence under President Donald Trump.
The pair met again on Monday and Gabbard used a speech to a geopolitical conference in New Delhi to praise the enduring partnership between the United States and India.
“I am confident that this partnership and friendship between our two nations and our leaders will continue to grow and strengthen,” she added.


India orders curfew after violence over tomb of 17th-century Muslim ruler

Updated 18 March 2025
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India orders curfew after violence over tomb of 17th-century Muslim ruler

  • Violence in the central Indian city of Nagpur damaged many vehicles and injured several people
  • Situation escalated after several members of Muslim groups marched near a police station and threw stones at police

MUMBAI: Authorities clamped indefinite curfew on parts of the Indian city of Nagpur after more than a dozen police officers were hurt in clashes sparked by a Hindu group’s demand for the removal of the tomb of a 17th-century Mughal ruler, police said on Tuesday.
Monday’s violence in the central Indian city damaged many vehicles and injured several people, among them at least 15 police personnel, one of whom was in serious condition, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, where the city is located, criticized the violence in a video message, calling for every effort to maintain law and order.
“I have told the police commissioner to take whatever strict steps are necessary,” Fadnavis added.
Police said in a statement that members of the group, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), burnt an effigy of the Emperor Aurangzeb and his tomb as they chanted slogans demanding its removal from the nearby city of Aurangabad.
The police officer said the situation escalated after several members of Muslim groups marched near a police station and threw stones at police.
The attackers, wearing masks to hide their faces, carried sharp weapons and bottles, a resident of the area told the ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
The VHP denied accusations of engaging in any violence. It wants the tomb to be replaced with a memorial for rulers from the local Maratha community, its general secretary, Milind Parande, said in a video message.
Nagpur is also the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The VHP belongs to the same family of organizations.
Modi’s critics have often accused him of discriminating against Muslims, and failing to act against those targeting them. He and his government have denied the accusations.


Strange foam and dead fish wash ashore at 2 Australian beaches as surfers fall sick

Updated 18 March 2025
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Strange foam and dead fish wash ashore at 2 Australian beaches as surfers fall sick

  • The goverment closed Waitpinga Beach and neighboring Parsons Beach on Monday. Dozens of dead fish have reportedly been washed shore
  • Surfers have been complaining since the weekend of getting sore eyes, sore throats and coughing after contact with the water

MELBOURNE: An Australian state closed two beaches after dead fish and an unusual off-white foam washed ashore while surfers reported feeling unwell, officials said on Tuesday.
A microalgal bloom created by unusual weather conditions was suspected to have sickened humans and marine life as well as creating the foam that has covered hundreds of meters (yards) of coastline, South Australian Environment Protection Authority principal scientific officer Sam Gaylard said.
“It is very concerning,” Gaylard told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“It is unusual at this scale. At this time of year, when the weather conditions allow, we do occasionally get isolated blooms, but something of this scale is definitely a little bit unusual,” Gaylard added.
Waitpinga Beach and neighboring Parsons Beach, both south of the South Australia state capital Adelaide, have been closed to the public since Monday in response to a “fish mortality event in the area,” the Department for Environment and Water said in a statement.
“The beaches will be re-opened as soon as possible,” the department said.
Dozens of dead fish have reportedly been washed shore.
Surfers have been complaining since the weekend of getting sore eyes, sore throats and coughing after contact with the water, said local Anthony Rowland, who surfed at Waitpinga on Saturday.
“While we were out there, we started coughing,” Rowland said, refering to his surfing comrads. He said he was overwhelmed by the response from other surfers after posting his experience online.
“Lots of people reached out – so many people have said they’re had exactly the same symptoms,” Rowland said.
Marine scientists took water samples from the foam, which is a byproduct of the toxic organisms’ decay, on Monday, but it could take until the end of the week to identify the organism, Gaylard said.
A bloom of microalgae – microscopic, single-celled organisms – could have been caused by a recent extended period of hot and dry weather with little wind and low tides, Gaylard said.
A swell has picked up in the area since Sunday, and the turbulence could break up the algae while generating more foam, he said.
“At the moment, we’re not sure how long this will last,” Gaylard said.


Turkiye’s Erdogan seeks meeting with Trump, Bloomberg News says

Updated 18 March 2025
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Turkiye’s Erdogan seeks meeting with Trump, Bloomberg News says

  • Erdogan’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is working to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, potentially by late April, Bloomberg News said on Tuesday, citing Turkish officials familiar with the matter.
Erdogan sees closer US-Turkiye ties as crucial for regional stability, particularly as Ankara seeks a bigger role in mediating conflicts from Ukraine to Syria, the report added.
Erdogan’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.
In the battle against militant group Islamic State in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkiye regards as a terrorist group. Turkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.
Turkiye’s 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems also led to US sanctions and the country’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.
On Sunday, Erdogan spoke by telephone with Trump, discussing efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria.
He told Trump that Turkiye supported his “decisive and direct initiatives” to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and would continue to strive for a “just and lasting peace,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement.