LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ addition to the democratic presidential ticket for the 2020 election has drawn support from South Florida’s Jamaican and Indian communities.
There’s a large Jamaican population in Lauderhill, so upon hearing Harris is half Jamaican and half Indian, some people were elated, saying she has given them the hope they haven’t felt in a long time.
Catherine Malcolm is the owner of the local restaurant chain Jerk Machine. With the announcement of Harris, she said she has a renewed pep in her step.
“It came on over the news, and I was just like, I screamed out, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is so exciting,'” Malcolm said. “To have someone like Kamala be a vice president, I think it’s going to be really great.”
Shyamala Gopalan, Harris’ mother, was from India. She was a breast cancer researcher up until her death in 2009.
At Little Market in Oakland Park, a store that specializes in Indian groceries and spices, Harris’ announcement is inspirational.
“It’s a proud moment,” Salem Aijaz said. “I saw that there’s so many candidates, but I had a feeling that they were going to pick her.”
Donald Harris, the senator’s father, is a retired Stanford economics professor, and he is from Jamaica.
“My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America,” Harris said during a Wednesday news conference. “One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education.”
“Now, with India and Jamaica, you’re getting a true commonwealth world view of the world, and she’s a realist,” Steve Higgins said. “She knows about people’s issues, and she’s a decent person who you can trust.”
Not only are Harris’ familial roots exciting for people in the community, but because she is woman, she gives hope to some in the community.
“I’m so happy,” Karen Grey said. “I’m so proud. I’m wearing my Jamaican shirt in support. As a woman, I’m ecstatic. As a Jamaican, I am proud. As a Black woman, I am hopeful. I just believe in my heart of hearts that she’s the ideal person, the ideal selection, the ideal pick to govern for everybody, and we need that right now.”
“I am super excited,” Yvonne Barnett, an attorney, said. “Also being somebody of the court because I’m also an attorney, a lawyer, so I can say, ‘I love it. I love it. I love it.'”
The excitement also carries over to Melissa Dunn, who has her own political aspirations and her family.
“It tells me that she can do it, I can do it, and when I have a daughter, she can do it, too,” Dunn said. “I called my mother. We literally have three generations of Jamaican women in my family on a call cheering each other on and just really feeling super encouraged.”
Supporters vowed to do what they have to leading up to the election to make sure Harris is elected into office.
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