How the Bay Area Shaped Kamala Harris

KQED's Forum

In her acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris used “the Bay” when talking about where she grew up, rather than name-check Berkeley and its counterculture reputation. And she doesn’t always jump at the chance to call-out progressive San Francisco, where she first made her name in politics. But those omissions don’t seem to be dimming the local pride and excitement over the Oakland-born candidate’s historic nomination. We’ll look back at Harris’ Bay Area background and how it shaped her career, ideas and political identity.

Guests:

Lateefah Simon, BART Board member, Longtime friend and mentee of Kamala Harris

Debbie Mesloh, former advisor and communications director, for Kamala Harris

Carole Porter, childhood friend of Kamala Harris

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown

Stacey Johnson-Batiste, childhood friend of Kamala Harris, and author of "Friends from the Beginning: The Berkeley Village That Raised Kamala and Me"