On January 20, the Bay Area’s own Kamala Devi Harris will be sworn in as the our nation’s 49th and the first female, Black and South Asian vice president. In addition to launching our Inauguration Breakfast Box and Inauguration live watch party, we’re commemorating this special day and paying tribute to Harris’ East Bay roots with this list of fun facts and places special to our number-two-in-chief:

The vice presidency will not be the only historic role that Harris has held. She was the first person of color to serve as district attorney of San Francisco, the first female and first Black and Indian-American attorney general of California, and the second Black woman and first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate.

Kamala Harris’ parents, Shyamala Gopalan Harris and Donald Harris, met as graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley. They were active participants in Berkeley’s civil rights movement of the 1960s. “I was raised on stories of activism of the 1960s,” Harris told local newspaper Berkeleyside . 

In her book The Truths We Hold , Harris talks about Rainbow Sign, a Black cultural center that served as a cinema, art gallery, dance studio, performance space, and restaurant. Every Thursday, Harris would visit the center with her mother and sister. She describes Rainbow Sign as a place of community, activism, and empowerment. Rainbow Sign was open for six years, and its building is currently the site of the Berkeley Mental Health Program at 2640 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (formerly Grove Street).

[PHOTO] Mural of Kamala Harris at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley

Harris attended Thousand Oaks Elementary School . She was bused to school as part of the desegregation integration program. The school installed a mural in January 2019 showcasing influential female figures – Malala Yousafazai, Dolores Huerta, Ruth Asawa, Serena Williams, and of course, its alumna, Kamala Harris. (FYI – a portion of sales from our Inauguration Breakfast Box will go to the Thousand Oaks Elementary School PTA.)

Enjoy our Inauguration Breakfast Box and Exclusive Inauguration live watch party on January 20. Learn more by clicking on the image.

From cooking masala dosa with actress Mindy Kaling to sharing her favorite cornbread dressing recipe on Instagram, Harris has established herself as a foodie and cooking enthusiast. “My mother used to tell me, ‘Kamala, you clearly like to eat good food. You better learn how to cook,’” Harris told Glamour earlier this year. 

Harris’ mother was Hindu, her father Baptist. She grew up attending 23rd Avenue Church of God, where she sang in the children’s choir. She writes in her book that her favorite hymn was “Fill My Cup, Lord.”

[PHOTO] La Cumbre Taqueria in San Francisco’s Mission District

According to a former advisor, Harris’ favorite burrito in the Bay Area can be found at La Cumbre , a San Francisco taqueria that claims to be the birthplace of the iconic Mission Burrito.

Harris is a member of Alameda-based winery Rock Wall Wine Company , located on the former Alameda Naval Air Base in a converted airplane hangar. The winery calls itself “a new chapter in the East Bay urban winemaking scene” and boasts stunning views of the San Francisco skyline. Due to the pandemic, the winery’s tasting room tarmac is currently closed, but you can order online and pick up through the no-contact drive thru or have the wine shipped to your house.   

[PHOTO] Then Sen. Kamala Harris tours the Home of Chicken and Waffles with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Her cousin Derreck Johnson owns the Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oakland’s Jack London Square neighborhood. This past summer, she visited the restaurant with Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf to campaign on behalf of her running mate President-Elect Joe Biden. Derreck has supplied us with coupons for FREE waffles included in our Inauguration Breakfast Box.

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