Kamala Harris' Bus Ride: Fact Or Fiction?

did kamala harris ride a bus

Kamala Harris, the first black and South Asian woman to hold many of her public offices, has had a long and varied career in politics. Harris was born in Oakland, California, in 1964 and moved around the Midwestern United States with her family until she was 12, when she moved to Montreal, Quebec, for her mother's work. Harris's political career began when she served as Alameda County Deputy District Attorney, then San Francisco County Assistant District Attorney, and then ran the Family and Children's Services Division in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. She served two terms as District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011. But did she ride a bus?

As a child, Harris rode a bus to school as part of Berkeley's comprehensive desegregation program. She was bused to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, a public school in a more prosperous, previously majority-white neighbourhood in northern Berkeley. Harris has also been known to ride the bus as an adult, with a former classmate from her childhood in Berkeley, Carole Porter, recalling how they used to ride the bus together to their desegregated public school.

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Kamala Harris's use of buses Kamala Harris has been criticised for bussing people into her rallies, including in North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Georgia. She has also supported the use of electric school buses.
Early life Kamala Harris rode a school bus as a child as part of Berkeley's comprehensive desegregation program.

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Kamala Harris rode a bus to a desegregated school as a child

Harris moved to Berkeley with her family in 1970 when she was six years old. Her parents, Shyamala Gopalan and Donald J. Harris, were both academics who had immigrated to the United States from India and Jamaica, respectively. Harris's mother, Gopalan, was a biologist whose research on the progesterone receptor gene advanced breast cancer research, and her father, Donald J. Harris, was an economist who became a professor at Stanford University in 1972.

Harris's childhood friend, Porter, recalls that Harris was a confident young girl. Porter remembers how the two girls would play together in the streets of their diverse neighbourhood, which included the first Black mayor of Berkeley, two Oakland Raiders, and regular visits from Huey Newton. Porter also believes that growing up around two strong women, Harris's mother and the neighbourhood matriarch, Regina Shelton, shaped Harris's character. Shelton, who ran a daycare centre in the apartment below Harris's home, educated Harris about Black culture and took her and her sister Maya to church and taught them how to cook soul food.

In addition to her exposure to Black culture, Harris also maintained a connection to her Indian heritage. Her mother ensured that her daughters visited India every other year, and their grandparents would visit California in alternate years. Harris was proud of her Indian heritage and family name, always correcting people on the pronunciation of her name. This pride in her multicultural identity, fostered by her mother and Shelton, would go on to influence her political career and outlook.

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Harris's campaign bussed people into rallies

Kamala Harris's campaign has been accused of bussing people into rallies to make up for a lack of local support. In September 2024, Harris held a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with two months to go until Election Day. At least a dozen yellow buses full of people from Massachusetts were seen arriving at the event. The previous week, Harris had to bus in supporters to her Savannah rally held at the Enmarket Arena.

In September 2024, a Twitter user posted:

> Rumor has it that Kamala is bussing in a bunch of fake supporters to fill seats at her rally in New Hampshire. Why would the popular candidate have to fill up 12 buses if she brought so much “joy” to the American people?

Local reports from North Carolina also suggested that Harris had been "bussing people in across state lines".

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Harris announces $1 billion in grants for electric school buses

On September 22, 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $1 billion in grants for electric school buses. Nearly 400 school districts spanning all 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with several tribes and U.S. territories, will receive grants to purchase about 2,500 "clean" school buses under a new federal program.

The Biden administration is making the grants available as part of a wider effort to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution near schools and communities. Harris and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced the grant awards in Seattle. The new, mostly electric school buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money, and better protect children’s health.

“Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus?” Harris asked a crowd at Seattle’s Lumen Field, with an electric bus behind her. “It’s part of our experience growing up. It’s part of a nostalgia and a memory of the excitement and joy of going to school — to be with your favorite teacher, to be with your best friends, and to learn. The school bus takes us there.”

Harris rode a bus to school as a child. As part of Berkeley's comprehensive desegregation program, she was bused to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, a public school in a more prosperous neighborhood in northern Berkeley, which previously had been 95 percent white but became 40 percent Black after the desegregation plan went into effect.

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Harris rode the school bus with Carole Porter

Kamala Harris rode the school bus with Carole Porter, who lived across the street from Harris in Berkeley, California. Porter remembers waiting for the bus that would take her to a desegregated public school with Harris. The two became fast friends, playing together in the streets of their multicultural neighbourhood. Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, ensured her daughters visited India every other year, and Porter recalls Harris taking her to the family home in Berkeley on one such visit. Porter also remembers Harris's pride in her Indian heritage and her family name.

Harris and Porter's mothers were good friends, and the girls spent a lot of time together at the daycare run by the neighbourhood matriarch, Regina Shelton, in the apartment below Gopalan's home. Shelton educated Harris about Black culture, taking her and her sister, Maya, to church and teaching them how to cook soul food. Both Shelton and Gopalan have since passed away, but Porter believes they would be proud to see Harris running for the highest office in the land. She says their community's collective pride is about more than Harris's political aspirations. It's about sharing the strong, deeply rooted values and beliefs that they were raised with in their redlined neighbourhood in Berkeley.

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Harris's first name is pronounced differently from how it is spelt

Kamala Harris's first name is pronounced differently from how it is spelt, and she has long been familiar with educating her audiences and voters about its correct pronunciation. Harris herself has stated that there are many ways to pronounce her name. Her grandmother, for instance, would say "KUH-muh-lah", while Harris usually helps people by saying, "Well, just think of a comma and add a 'la' at the end".

Actress Kerry Washington, along with Harris's great-nieces, Amara and Leela, also offered a lesson on how to pronounce the vice president's name. They suggested that one should first say "'Kama,' like a comma in a sentence", and then say "'La,' like 'la-la-la-la-la'".

The name Kamala has also been appearing more frequently in popular entertainment. In the show Ms. Marvel, there is a character named Kamala Khan (pronounced Ka-MALA). In Mindy Kaling's show Never Have I Ever, actress Richa Moorjani plays a character also named Kamala, and she decided to pronounce her character's name as "KUH-muh-lah", which is how the name is traditionally said in India. Moorjani has also stated that how people choose to say their own name is personal and should be respected.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, Kamala Harris rode a bus to school as a child.

Harris was bused as part of Berkeley's comprehensive desegregation program to Thousand Oaks Elementary School.

Harris was born in Oakland, California, and lived in various locations in the Midwestern United States from 1966 to 1970, when she moved back to California.

Yes, in 2024, Kamala Harris was seen riding in a bus leaving her rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

It is speculated that Harris was "bussing in" supporters to her rallies to make up for a lack of local support.

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