Talk:Kamala Harris

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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Why does Wikipedia say that Kamala Harris is African American/Asian American/South Asian American?

A1: Wikipedia content is based on reliable sources (see Wikipedia:Verifiability, Wikipedia:Reliable sources). Many reliable sources, over a long period, refer to Harris as African American and Asian American, so Wikipedia reflects that in this article. Moreover, Harris's Senate and campaign websites state that she is African American and Asian American.

Social media posts have inaccurately suggested that Harris cannot be African American because she has an Indian mother and Jamaican father. As PolitiFact notes, (see A look at Kamala Harris' multi-ethnic background and racial identity in the US, PolitiFact (August 14, 2020)), "this is a poor understanding of history, and ... the implication that Jamaicans aren't African or connected to Africa is wrong on its face." While not all Jamaican-Americans identify as "African American," Harris and many others do.

When Wikipedia describes someone as the "first" to do something, we default to the larger category. Therefore, while Harris is the first Tamil-American, Indian-American, or South Asian-American to be Vice President of the US, we describe her, as reliable sources do, as the first Asian American to be Vice President of the US.

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (color, defense, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

This article has been viewed enough times in a single year to make it into the Top 50 Report annual list. This happened in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

This article has been viewed enough times in a single week to appear in the Top 25 Report 23 times. The weeks in which this happened:

This article has been mentioned by multiple media organizations:

Aída Chávez (2 July 2020). "There's a War Going on Over Kamala Harris's Wikipedia Page, With Unflattering Elements Vanishing". The Intercept. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
Eric Ting (4 July 2020). "Someone is working very hard to dress up Kamala Harris' Wikipedia page, report finds". SFGate. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
Tyler Olson (6 July 2020). "Kamala Harris' Wikipedia page scrubbed of information amid veepstakes, igniting online fight". Fox News. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
Emily Jacobs (7 July 2020). "Kamala Harris' Wikipedia page has been edited over 500 times amid VP rumors". New York Post. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
Zachary Petrizzo (11 August 2020). "Trolls Are Currently Trying to Deface Kamala Harris' Wikipedia Page With Slurs and Other False Info". Mediaite. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
Joshua Benton (13 August 2020). "The Wikipedia War Over Kamala Harris's Race". The Atlantic. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
Bradley Cortright (24 January 2024). "Harris Complains About How Tall Wikipedia Says She Is". Independent Journal Review. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
Johnathan Jones (24 January 2024). "Kamala Harris Bothered by How Tall Wikipedia Says She Is: 'That Is Absolutely Incorrect'". The Western Journal. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
Reagan Reese (24 January 2024). "Kamala Harris Is Very Concerned About Wikipedia Trolls Making Her Look Short". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

Section sizes

Section size for Kamala Harris (35 sections)
Section name	Byte count	Section total
(Top)	7,217	7,217
Early life and career	230	34,271
Early life and education	16,038	16,038
Early career	2,989	2,989
San Francisco District Attorney (2002–2011)	15,014	15,014
Attorney General of California (2011–2017)	15,169	15,169
U.S. Senator (2017–2021)	33	51,019
Election	8,573	8,573
Tenure and political positions	2,215	39,284
2017	8,634	8,634
2018	8,877	8,877
2019	14,373	14,373
2020	3,982	3,982
2021	1,203	1,203
Committee assignments	2,409	2,409
Caucus memberships	720	720
2020 presidential election	33	21,020
Presidential campaign	13,269	13,269
Vice presidential campaign	7,718	7,718
Vice presidency (2021–present)	5,109	33,570
Senate presidency	8,341	8,341
Immigration	13,878	13,878
Foreign policy	6,242	6,242
2024 presidential campaign	12,220	12,220
Political positions	5,505	5,505
Personal life	9,846	9,846
Public image	10,494	10,494
Publications	810	810
See also	634	634
Notes	26	26
References	1,269	1,269
Further reading	353	353
External links	201	7,677
Official	286	286
Other	7,190	7,190
Total	211,100	211,100

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on October 20, 2021 and October 20, 2022.

"Cackala" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Cackala has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 October 17 § Cackala until a consensus is reached. Duckmather (talk) 13:54, 17 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Harris` interview on Fox News...

should be added, because of the clarification of her political positions. My poposal (without links to sources):

On October 16, 2024, during the presidential campaign, Harris took the opportunity to clarify her political position during an interview on Fox News Channel. “Anchorman” Bret Baier, who made the interview highly confrontational, turned it into a sometimes heated debate and raised questions related to illegal immigration, transgender health care for prisoners, and tax relief. On the important issue of the threat to American democracy, „the enemy from within”, Harris corrected the questioner and also stated that her presidency was not a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency. She stands for a new generation and will bring her own ideas and experiences into office. In doing so, she has made it clear that she wants “not a repeat of Donald Trump, not the continuation of Joe Biden, but something new”. Peter Christian Riemann (talk) 13:35, 19 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There is nothing to suggest that this interview will be regarded as an important moment in all of Harris' life. It might merit some mention on 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign. No need to refer to Baier as "the questioner", just use his surname. 331dot (talk) 13:40, 19 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also this seems more about her campaign, so should be three, is anywhere. Slatersteven (talk) 13:41, 19 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality

She is Jamaican/Asian American not African American. 2601:845:C380:1870:A474:3F49:6C4F:9FFF (talk) 11:16, 21 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

She only holds an American passport, thus her nationality is correctly put as American. Slatersteven (talk) 11:18, 21 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

We discussed that before. The term African American refers to people in the U.S. with some African ancestry. TFD (talk) 12:42, 21 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality

The article requires editing to accurately reflect her identity. She is African-American and Indian-American, not African-American and Asian-American. Matthew4100002 (talk) 13:36, 22 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]