The Story of Shyamala Gopalan and the Election of the Indian Immigrant Mom in the Early Post-Newtonian Era

Both of us have a big thing in common. A single Indian immigrant mom raised us to have a better life in America. Now, ahead of the D.N.C., young voters have embraced Harris for her “brat” energy. There is a song playing. I was wondering if he mom could be a bit more brave than she is. And that question has helped me understand the current momentum behind her campaign and how it could easily fizzle if she doesn’t lay out policies that distinguish her from her predecessor, who was decidedly not “brat” enough. This is how it all started if you don’t know what “brat” means. The Trump campaign came after her for laughing, dancing and her biracial identity after she became the front-runner for the Democratic ticket. She was Indian all the way until she realized that she was a Black person. The young people took to her defense, mimicking those moments with a lime-green filter in the style of this summer’s hottest pop album, “Brat.” Kamala is a brat and she weighed in on her. And shortly after, the campaign officially rebranded to brat green. If she is a brat, it is because of her mom. Shyamala Gopalan was just a teenager when she left India to move all the way to the United States in 1958, where she would pursue her Ph.D., get a job, fall in love and choose who she would marry. That may not seem all that bratty to Americans, but I can’t overstate how rebellious that would have been for someone like Gopalan, who was born to an upper-caste family at a time when women weren’t expected to work and marriages were arranged. She decided to marry a man who was black. And most Indian Americans I know today would tell you that they still have family members who have a deep-seated racism, which is a hangover from caste discrimination, which still exists today. After her divorce, which was probably more controversial than a decision to get a love marriage in the first place, Gopalan and Harris raised her two kids amidst a community of Black intellectuals who were active in the fight for the most sweeping civil rights and immigration reforms in American history. She had a brat that she taught her children to take a bold stands on the right side of history. She shared a story about her mother that has become a tentpole of the campaign. “My mother would give us a hard time sometimes and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You feel like you fell out of a coconut tree. You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.’” Music is being played. This conveys a deeper meaning of how immigrants hold on to their values as they lay new roots in America to build a better future for both their kids and this country. “Please raise your right hand.” “Kamala Devi Harris.” Considering the context in which Kamala Harris was raised, the positions she’s defended as vice president, from continuing to arm Israel or using executive orders to stop asylum seekers at the border, seem extremely moderate, considering her mom spent a lifetime defying expectations. After she accepts the D.N.C. nomination this week, I will be looking to see if she sets out some policies that will distinguish her from her more moderate predecessor. Because if she doesn’t, there’s a chance that this brat green wave that she’s been riding all summer could turn jaded real quick.

A Lesson from Kamala’s Great-Nieces: How Do You Properly Pronounce the First Name of Harris?

“Confusion is understandable,” Washington said on the oft-repeated mispronunciations of the vice president’s name. “Disrespect is not. Tonight, we will help everyone get it right.

Donald Trump mispronounces the first name of Harris. He didn’t care if he mispronounce it at the July rally. I couldn’t care less.

“My auntie, my mom, and my grandma were the strong women that helped me see the value of service,” said the daughter of Harris’ sister, Maya.

“Like a lot of young people, I didn’t always understand what I was feeling,” Emhoff said. “But no matter what, Kamala was there for me. She’s never stopped listening to me and she’s not going to stop listening to all of us.”

Hudlin added, “To me, her advice means everything. Whether it is making an impact or finding hope when the world doesn’t feel so hopeful. She taught me that I need to give my whole heart and actions to make a difference.

All three said Harris would give everything to the country as president — from fighting for economic opportunity, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice and reproductive freedom.

Source: How do you pronounce Kamala’s name? Her great-nieces gave the DNC a lesson

On Meena’s “Big Idea” and Her Sisters, and Why I Love My Three Parents (Mike Emhoff and Kamala and Maya)

In 2020 Meena told CNN that the inspiration for her book “Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea” came from her sisters.

In recent weeks, Emhoff got into the spotlight when she replied “I love my three parents” when she heard that Harris was a childless cat lady.