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Girl says Kamala Harris looks like her
Sonja Parcell recorded a video showing her explaining to her daughter that Harris would be the first woman vice president if Joe Biden and Harris won the election. Parcell’s daughter said “that looks like me” and pointed to herself when her mother mentions Harris, who has Jamaican and Indian heritage. Credit: Sonja Parcell via Storyful
DUBLIN, Ohio - The effect of Kamala Harris as the first mixed-race, female vice president-elect is already reverberating with little girls around the country.
Sonja Leela Parcell of Dublin, Ohio was watching a video of Harris and Joe Biden just ahead of the pair being declared the Democratic winners of the 2020 election. If they win, Parcell tells her 4-year-old daughter on the video, Harris will be the first "woman vice president. She'll be the boss."
But the girl cuts off her mom mid-sentence.
"She looks like me," she says proudly.
Parcell rushed to document the historic moment.
"Kamala Haris, a woman in power, a woman of color. From the bottom of our brown-girl hearts," Parcell posted under her Instagram video. "Thank you. Representation matters."
Representation is personal for the Parcell family, who are of blended backgrounds. In an interview Wednesday morning, Parcell told KTVU that she was born in Mumbai, India, and adopted by a white family; her husband is also white.
Harris is also mixed race. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was born in India, before moving her family to Berkeley, California. Harris' father, Donald Harris, was from Jamaica and is a professor emeritus at Stanford University. Harris' dual background as both a woman and one of color is something the current U.S. senator from California mentions frequently.
Being an underrepresented minority who shatters stereotypes and breaks barriers matters to a lot of people.
Sixteen years ago, Parcel won the 2004 Miss Lexington contest in her small town. She was the first person of color to win the pageant.
"That meant a lot," Parcell said.
When Parcell was a young girl, one of the few role models for her was the Disney princess, Jasmine - the outfit her daughter was wearing while watching Harris step on stage.
Now, when her daughter grows up, Parcell noted her role model will be the vice president of the United States.
This story was reported from Oakland, Calif. Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@foxtv.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez