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What Sen. Kamala Harris' Vice Presidential Candidacy Means For Multiracial People In The U.S.

Senator Kamala Harris of California stands akimbo while holding a microphone up to her face in front of an American flag backdrop.
Gage Skidmore
/
Flickr
The historic vice presidential candidacy of Sen. Kamala Harris has given rise to reflections on race and identity.

That Kamala Harris was the first Black woman and also the first Asian American woman to be the presumptive nominee for vice president came as a surprise to many.

"She appears to lean into her Black identity," says writer Nisha Chittal, but her cultural, ethnic and racial background is more nuanced. The historic nomination is prompting new conversations about being multiracial in the U.S.

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