'One of Us': South Asians Celebrate Harris As VP Choice'
‘One of us’: South Asians celebrate Harris as VP choice.' By Sophia Tareen, Aug. 13, 2020. - Excerpts, Ed.:
CHICAGO (AP) — Two words summed up Tamani Jayasinghe’s exuberance for the first Indian American and Black woman to run for vice president: “Kamala Aunty.” That title of respect that goes beyond family in Asian circles immediately came to mind when Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. So the 27-year-old with Sri Lankan roots who works as a communications strategist in NY tweeted it as a wink to others who understood the significance of the term.
“The fact that she is both Black and brown is what makes this so exciting. The Asian American experience is one that is complicated and nuanced and robust,” said Jayasinghe, “I feel connected to that.” Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father & an Indian mother, often focuses on her identity as a Black woman. At times during her political career, as she ran for Calif. attorney general & senator, some didn’t realize she was of Indian descent. In her first remarks as Biden’s running mate on Wed., she spoke of her mother’s roots but described herself as the “1st Black woman” to be nominated for the vice presidency on a major party ticket.
Still, the possibility she would be the U.S. vice president, which has already triggered sexist and racist commentary, created instantaneous glee among South Asians worldwide and put the spotlight on her as the first person of Asian descent on a major party presidential ticket. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in November, according to a May report by the Pew Research Center.
Indian government officials of all parties noted the choice as historic, while actress Mindy Kaling — she once made masala dosa with Harris — deemed it “thrilling.” A top headline in The Times of India, one of the world’s most widely read English-language newspapers, read, “’A daughter of Chennai, Kamala blooms in US.”...
Read More + *Video of Tamani Jayasinghe, https://apnews.com/0dc9ab1834475308435b7175bf0288d1
- Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks after Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden introduced her as his running mate during a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School, Wilmington, Del., Aug. 12, 2020.
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