As Vice President Kamala Harris embraced the Democratic presidential nomination, she was supported by family members who filled the stands, including her husband Doug Emhoff, her stepchildren, and her sister Maya Harris. However, her father, Donald J. Harris, was notably absent from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He is Kamala’s only surviving parent, following the death of her mother Shyamala Gopalan in 2009.
Donald J. Harris is an economist who retired from his position as a professor at Stanford University. Originally from Jamaica, he immigrated to the United States to earn a doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where he met Shyamala Gopalan. The couple had two daughters, Kamala and Maya, before their divorce. After the separation, Shyamala gained primary custody of their children, although Donald remained involved in their lives on weekends and during the summer, as mentioned in Kamala’s 2019 memoir.
In her book “The Truths We Hold,” Kamala reflected on her parents’ marriage, suggesting that their youth may have contributed to its failure. Donald’s economic views are often influenced by Marxism, and he has also served as an economic advisor to Jamaica.
Donald Harris’s absence was felt at the DNC, particularly during Kamala’s acceptance speech. Throughout her political journey, he has maintained a low profile, not making any public appearances or statements during her 2020 vice presidential campaign. His last significant comment regarding her political career occurred in 2019, during her initial presidential run. This followed her light-hearted acknowledgment of family ties to Jamaica in response to a question about marijuana use. In reaction, Donald expressed his disapproval of the stereotype being perpetuated, stressing his desire to distance himself and his family from what he described as a “travesty.”
Additionally, Donald J. Harris has connections to Wisconsin, where he taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for several years. The family lived in Madison during Kamala’s early childhood, while Shyamala was a researcher at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research. In her memoir, Kamala cited the family’s move to Wisconsin as a factor in her parents’ eventual separation.