Dennis Edwards: She mentioned him with a smile

Kamala Harris’ parents Shyamala Gopalan Harris and Donald Harris. Kamala Harris/Facebook It was a brief illustration, within an important moment, during a major DNC convention. But the cause for celebration in my spirit came from the smile on Vice President Kamala Harris’ face as she reflected on the advice her father gave her as a child. While playing in a park she recalled how her father, Dr. Donald Harris, a world renowned and retired Stanford University Economics Professor, overruled her mother’s urges for caution as she ran while playing. She talked with adoration through slight crackles in her voice about how he taught her as a young child to be fearless. “My father would say, as he smiled” … ‘Don’t let anything stop you.’” She remembers the love in that smile as much as his advice.& In that moment I realized Kamala is a “Daddy’s Girl.” I could see it in her eyes and the brief smile she allowed to slip through while talking about him. There was a sense of relief in pride as she told that story. As if she’d been wanting to say it for a long time. The magnitude of this moment is in her eyes....