The Higher Education of California’s New Attorney General

Last week Kamala D. Harris took the oath of office as attorney general of the state of California. She is the first female and the first African American to hold the office.

Harris’ father is from Jamaica and teaches economics at Stanford. Her mother is of Indian descent and is a physician who specializes in breast cancer. Both parents were active in the civil rights movement. Harris is a graduate of Howard University and received her legal training at the Hastings College of Law of the University of California San Francisco.

Harris was a county prosecutor in California and established an impressive record in convicting felons. This tough image propelled her to election as district attorney of San Francisco in 2003. She was reelected in 2007 and was elected attorney general of California in a close election last November.

At 46 years of age, she is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Copyright © 2011. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.