Melvin Durai
At the turn of the century, if you had told a random group of Americans that over the next two decades, they would elect a president named Barack Hussein Obama, whose father was from Kenya, and a vice president named Kamala Devi Harris, whose mother was from India, they would have wondered what you had been drinking. Something rather strong, undoubtedly.
Both Obama and Harris have made history in America, with Obama serving as the first African-American president, and Harris soon to become not just the first female vice president, but also the first African-American and first Indian-American vice president, among several other firsts.
What are these other firsts? Well, Jamaicans take pride in the fact that her father is from Jamaica, making her the first Jamaican-American vice president. Tamils take pride in the fact that her late mother was Tamil, making her the first Tamil-American vice president. And Tamil Brahmins take pride in the fact that her mother was a Tamil Brahmin, making her the first TamBram vice president, not to mention the first TamBram-Jamaican vice president. (Kamala’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan, apparently followed an obscure Brahmin rule of conduct: “Marry a Jamaican and your daughter will make everyone proud!”)
Needless to say, the American media had a little trouble keeping up with all these firsts. One TV network simplified things considerably by calling her simply the “first person of color to be elected vice president of America.”
“Person of color” is an interesting term. In my estimation, Donald Trump is the most colorful president America has ever had. Not only does he use colorful language, his skin tone is closer to orange than white.
Another inclusive term that many people are using these days is BIPOC. It’s an acronym that stands for “black, Indigenous and people of color.” Kamala Harris is the first BIPOC vice president, and soon to be the subject of a Bollywood biopic.
Harris will also be the first HBCU graduate to become vice president. HBCUs are “historically black colleges and universities.” Harris graduated from Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C., before heading to law school at University of California, where she learned how to interrogate suspected criminals and Republicans.
The election of Harris to the second highest position in America means that her husband, Douglas Emhoff, has also achieved a significant first. He is about to become the first Second Gentleman of the United States. The country has had numerous First Ladies (wives of the president) and Second Ladies (wives of the vice president), but never a First or Second Gent.
Unlike India, which elected its first female leader more than 55 years ago, America has yet to put a woman in the top job. Hillary Clinton came close four years ago, so close that Bill Clinton was already planning his first project as a First Gent: promoting literacy in America by reading his autobiography “My Life” to all the White House interns.
Hillary was the first woman to become a presidential nominee of a major party in America. Two other women were vice-presidential nominees before Harris, but she is the first to be on a winning ticket. As vice president, she will be next in line to become president if Joe Biden is unable to fulfill his duties, for health reasons or otherwise. All the male chauvinists who voted for Trump in 2016 because they didn’t want to see a female president are no doubt praying hard for Biden’s health.
At 78, he is the oldest president in U.S. history, but I hope he’s able to serve two terms. After that, Harris will get a chance to run for president again. If things go well, she will move into the White House in 2029, achieving another series of firsts and touching off celebrations all over America, India and Jamaica.