Consider This from NPR - A childhood friend paints a picture of Kamala Harris' upbringing

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become.Her childhood friend Carole Porter, who lived a few houses away, paints a picture of a working-class, multicultural neighborhood.And she pointed to two women who had a huge effect on the vice president's life.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

One of the most memorable moments during Kamala Harris's previous campaign for president was when she said this in a 2019 primary debate. You know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools. And she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me. You can call me Carol Porter, the other little girl on the bus, because that's what Kamala calls me. That's what she calls you? That's what she calls me. Carol Porter lived around the corner from Kamala Harris when they were children.

They were close growing up and have remained friends over the years. Of course, today, Harris is vice president and likely Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Her campaign has the shortest runway of any U.S. presidential election in modern history, whereas her Republican opponent Donald Trump has been in the national spotlight for decades. So who was Kamala Harris long before she came to Washington? Consider this. In her Berkeley childhood, you can find the seeds of the political leader the vice president grew up to become. from NPR.

Carol Porter's family lived a few doors down from the house where young Kamala Harris lived with her sister Maya and their mother Shamala. Theirs was a redlined neighborhood in Berkeley, California. We really lived in a very multicultural community that was really beautiful. Very working class to lower working class, I would say. You know, around the corner from where Kamala and I were was public housing. So it was really a vast range of people. Mayor Warren Widener, the first black mayor, lived across the street from us. And we had two Oakland Raiders on our block. And Huey Newton

visited us regularly. I'm going to occasionally refer to Vice President Harris by her first name because we are talking about her childhood and we're talking about other members of the family. What do you remember about what that little girl on the bus was like, that young Kamala Harris? She was confident. And she was nice nice and she was a kid. Sometimes we got along and sometimes we didn't. But we always got back on the bus and went home together and oftentimes hung out at Shelton's Daycare. Mrs. Shelton was a matriarch of our neighborhood. Kamala and Maya and Shamala lived above the daycare center. They had a little bungalow apartment. It's probably two bedrooms and a bathroom.

You got to know Kamala's mother, Shamala, well. What would you describe as her influence on her daughter? What did Kamala learn from her mother? Well, I mean, the Shamala that I remember as a child, she had an air of confidence about her. She had an air of just integrity and strength. When you saw Shamala, you said, hello, Mrs. Harris. And, you know, she's a five-foot, dark-skinned Indian woman with an accent.

So you can paint that picture, right? Do you remember how Kamala as a child thought about her Indian identity, her mother's Indian heritage? She was very proud of it. And I always remember, you know, little things that she would have maybe from a trip to India, I don't know if it was a piece of jewelry or something that she would show or share. And then one very poignant memory I have is, you know, we were waiting for the bus and Kamala wanted me to come with her to her place. And she told me to look up and her grandparents were in the window.

And she wanted me to wave at her grandparents. So she's very, very proud of her Indian heritage, her family, her name. And she always correct people on how to pronounce her name. And she's very, very prideful. And even though her father was not as much a part of her life growing up, how much did she lean into her Black identity? Oh, Kamala, and I can say this as myself, I'm of mixed race too. My mother's white, my father's Black. And we are Black people in America because of the false construction of race to divide people.

We all have to go along a line somewhere. And so in America, we're considered black women. And that's how our mothers raised us, because that's what they knew we would be seen as. And Regina Shelton was really helpful and supportive for Shamala in doing that. And Kamala and Maya, and I think Kamala has shared this, went to church with Mrs. Shelton, and she had an opportunity to be around black people and Indian people. But when we're here in this country,

because of the racist construct, I will say, of America, there's, you know, people want to put you into a category. So I understand that Kamala's sister Maya became pregnant as a teenager around the same time that your sister also became pregnant as a teenager. What was that time like for your families? It was a very beautiful time, and it was a very challenging time. And for me, this really came up when I hear people like J.D. Vance talk about childless women. When you say childless, what does that mean? You know, Maya had a child who was raised by Kamala, Shamala, and Maya. My sister had a child who was raised by our family, my father, my mother, and my sisters and I. I mean, she's our baby. She's our child. It was very common.

It was important. That's how we live. That's what we do in our communities is we raise and we lift up and we take care of our own. So, yeah, it was tough, but it's beautiful now. And we have two beautiful young ladies that were the recipients of a lot of love and care. Given her family's activist roots, were you surprised that she pursued a career as a prosecutor? You know, I wasn't. I never really thought about it. And I kept, you know, kind of hearing people telling me this. And then I remember my dad explaining to me how important it was that she was a prosecutor. And what my dad explained to me was, you know, you don't have a lot of black people and especially women who go into the prosecutorial side of law.

And that's where the decisions are made. That's where the systems and the structures are created. So for her to be there is really significant and really important. Her mother, Shamala, is no longer around. And neither is Mrs. Shelton, who she's referred to as a second mother, the matriarch of the neighborhood. What do you think those two women would have to say about this moment? Collecting myself. It would mean so much to them.

They were really strong, strong women who gave everything. You know, Shamala for her daughters and her cancer research. And Mrs. Shelton was just a really giving, warm woman who loved all of the kids in the neighborhood. And she had the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with Kamala and Maya. And I know she loved and cared for them a lot. So for them to see this, which I'm sure they are in their heavenly space, it's everything. It's everything. Because it's not about Kamala's going to be president, but it's about Kamala having the opportunity to share some really strong, deeply rooted, important values and beliefs with other people that she was raised with, that we were raised with, in this little

red-line neighborhood in Berkeley, California. Who knew? Well, Carol Porter, thank you for sharing these reminiscences with us of your childhood friend, now presidential candidate, Kamala Harris. You're welcome. This episode was produced by Mark Rivers and Janaki Mehta. It was edited by Ashley Brown and Patrick Jaranwatanana. Special thanks to NPR's Deepa Shivaram and Molly Solomon of member station KQED. Our executive producer is Sammy Yannigan. And one more thing, you can now enjoy the Consider This newsletter. We still help you

break down a major story of the day, but you'll also get to know our producers and hosts and some moments of joy from the All Things Considered team. You can sign up at npr.org slash consider this newsletter. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.