Her name is Kamala Devi Harris, her dance moves are fire, and she’s just become the Vice President of the United States. Harris was born in Oakland California in 1964. Her Dad, Donald Harris was an economics professor from Jamaica, while her mum, Shyamala Gopalan, was a biomedical scientist from India. When she was 12, Kamala, her sister Maya, and their Mum all moved to Canada, where they stayed until 1982. After graduating from Westmount High in Montreal, Harris moved to Washington DC to study Political Science and Economics, and then back to California to study Law. Along her road to politics Harris has developed a real habit of making history. She became the first black woman, and Indian American to become a district attorney, then the first to be an Attorney general of California, and now Vice President. In 2017 Harris was elected as a US senator and has gotten a bit of a reputation for asking the tough questions in senate hearings. In 2019 she even put her hand up to be President, running against Joe Biden in the race for the the presidential candidacy. But later that year she pulled out of the race, saying she just didn’t have enough money to fund her campaign. Harris has called for racial equality within the states as well as significant police reform, but this has been a bit of a point of controversy. A lot of people say that she didn’t do enough to tackle police brutality when she was the attorney general of California and say that prisons became really over-crowded during her time as the top lawyer. Since being a senator though many people say Harris has been at the forefront of police reform, particularly in 2020, which was been painted with police controversy. Politics aside Harris is an avid cook and says her favourite meal is roast chicken. In terms of books, her faves are the Kite Runner and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. And you might’ve seen her rocking her a comfy pair of Converses. Harris says she has a massive collection of Chuck Taylor's for whatever the occasion While this is an historic moment for the United States, Kamala reckons it is only the beginning of a brand new chapter in American politics. __________________________________________ For the past 50 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news, while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins. We have over 1000 stories on all sorts of topics - everything from politics & volcanoes, to online security & fortnite. If you're looking for help to understand something, you'll probably find it on BTN. Make sure to like & subscribe our videos if you want to stay in the know! http://www.abc.net.au/btn/ Follow us on Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abcbtn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthenews/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthenews