Kamala Harris Makes History As Vice President-Elect
November 9, 2020, San Francisco—The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) congratulates former board member Kamala Harris on her historic election to the nation’s second highest office. Alongside President-Elect Joe Biden, Harris will assume office on January 20, 2021, breaking many barriers along the way. Harris is the first woman to be Vice President, the first African American woman, and the first South Asian American to be elected to the position. Born to immigrant parents in Oakland, California, Harris is also the first Democratic Vice President from the West Coast.
Kamala Harris received her law degree in 1989 from the University of California, Hastings in San Francisco, where she was president of the Black Law Students Association chapter. After being admitted to the California Bar in 1990, Harris worked for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for eight years, before crossing the bay to join the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. In 2002, Kamala Harris began serving on BASF’s Board of Directors and was active in the No Glass Ceiling initiative aimed at increasing the representation of female attorneys and partners in Bay Area law firms. In 2003, Kamala Harris won election as San Francisco District Attorney, becoming the first woman and person of color elected to the position in San Francisco.
In the 2010 California Attorney General election, Kamala Harris once again made history as the first woman, the first African American, and the first South Asian American to hold the office of Attorney General in California’s history. In 2016, after U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer announced plans to retire, Kamala Harris launched her campaign to fill her seat and was elected to the United States Senate, where she has been a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.
We are proud to call Kamala Harris part of the San Francisco legal community and treasure our shared values of justice and diversity. Breaking barriers for women and attorneys of color and pursuing constructive change in society are cornerstones of BASF’s mission.
Congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on making history once again!
Photo by Jim Block, 2013
The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) is a nonprofit voluntary membership organization of attorneys, law students, and legal professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1872, BASF enjoys the support of more than 7,500 individuals, law firms, corporate legal departments, and law schools. BASF provides a collective voice for public advocacy, advances professional growth and education, and attempts to elevate the standards of integrity, honor, and respect in the practice of law.