---
title: "Kamala Harris — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Kamala Harris, elected in 2020, became the first Black and first woman US vice president. A Topic 4.15 milestone tied to the Voting Rights Act and Black political power."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/kamala-harris"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Kamala Harris — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Kamala Harris is the first Black American, first woman, and first South Asian American elected vice president of the United States (2020). In AP African American Studies, she's a Topic 4.15 milestone in Black federal political leadership made possible by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

## What It Is

Kamala Harris won the vice presidency in 2020 on the ticket with Joe Biden, becoming the first Black American, the first woman, and the first South Asian American to hold the office. Before that, she served as California's attorney general and as a US senator, which placed her in the long line of Black officials who climbed through state and federal roles after the [Voting Rights Act of 1965](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/voting-rights-act-of-1965 "fv-autolink") opened the door.

In the CED, Harris appears in [Topic 4.15](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/15-economic-growth-and-black-political-representation/study-guide/S0nB9HBk5CHVRz7U "fv-autolink") (Economic Growth and Black Political Representation) as one of the major advances in Black federal political leadership in the early twenty-first century. The course doesn't treat her election as an isolated event. It's the latest data point in a trend the CED traces from Shirley Chisholm's 1968 election to Congress, through Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice at the State Department, to Barack Obama's 2008 presidency. Her win is also an intersectional milestone because she broke barriers of [race](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/14-interlocking-systems-of-oppression/study-guide/CZielrxhDkY9k8KM "fv-autolink") and gender at the same time.

## Why It Matters

Harris lives in [Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink") (Movements and Debates), Topic 4.15, and directly supports learning objective [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") 4.15.C, which asks you to describe major advances in Black federal political leadership in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. She also helps you argue 4.15.B, because her career is concrete evidence of what the Voting Rights Act of 1965 set in motion. The CED notes that Black elected officials grew dramatically after 1965 and that African Americans reached influential positions in Congress, the courts, and presidential administrations. Harris is the highest-ranking example of that pattern, so she works as the capstone of a causation chain you can write about. The Voting Rights Act expanded Black voting power, Black voting power elected Black officials, and Black officials eventually reached the executive branch itself.

## Connections

### [Shirley Chisholm (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/shirley-chisholm)

Chisholm became the first Black woman in Congress in 1968 and ran for president in 1972. Harris's 2020 win is the payoff of the path Chisholm opened, and pairing them gives you a ready-made continuity argument about Black women in federal politics.

### [Barack Obama (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/barack-obama)

Obama's 2008 election was the first Black presidency; Harris's 2020 election was the first Black vice presidency. Together they show that breakthroughs in executive-branch [leadership](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/10-hbcu-black-greek-letter-organizations-and-black-education/study-guide/kP0Y57GAauhTajQD "fv-autolink") came in waves, not as one-off events.

### [Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/voting-rights-act-of-1965)

The act banned racially discriminatory voting laws, which grew [Black voting power](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/black-voting-power "fv-autolink") and the number of Black elected officials. Harris is the endpoint of that cause-and-effect chain, so she's perfect evidence for any question about the act's long-term impact.

### [Congressional Black Caucus (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/congressional-black-caucus)

Founded in 1971 with Chisholm's help, the caucus built the institutional pipeline that supports Black candidates. Harris's rise through the Senate to the vice presidency shows what that pipeline can produce at the highest level.

## On the AP Exam

Harris shows up in the milestone-matching style of question, where you identify which leader achieved which 'first' and when. Don't mix her up with Loretta Lynch (first Black woman US attorney general) or Condoleezza Rice (first Black woman secretary of state and national security advisor). Harris was attorney general of California, not of the United States. On short-answer questions, this term has appeared in released exams (2024 SAQ 3 and the 2025 SAQ 1 stimulus set), usually in the context of explaining how Black political representation grew after 1965. The strongest move is connecting her election to a cause, like the Voting Rights Act or the precedents set by Chisholm and Obama, rather than just naming the milestone. Practice questions also frame her 2020 win as an intersectional milestone, so be ready to explain that she broke racial and gender barriers simultaneously.

## Kamala Harris vs Shirley Chisholm

Both are 'first Black woman' milestones, which is exactly why they get swapped on MCQs. Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress (1968) and the first Black woman to seek a major party's presidential nomination (1972). Harris was the first Black woman elected vice president (2020). Chisholm opened the door at the legislative level; Harris reached the executive branch five decades later.

## Key Takeaways

- Kamala Harris, elected in 2020, is the first Black American, first woman, and first South Asian American vice president of the United States.
- The CED frames her election as a major advance in Black federal political leadership under learning objective AP African American Studies 4.15.C.
- Her career is evidence of the Voting Rights Act's long-term impact, since the act expanded Black voting power and opened paths to offices like senator and vice president.
- Her 2020 win is an intersectional milestone because she broke barriers of both race and gender at the same time.
- She belongs to a timeline of firsts that includes Shirley Chisholm (Congress, 1968), Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice (secretary of state, 2000s), and Barack Obama (president, 2008).
- Harris was California's attorney general, not the US attorney general; Loretta Lynch holds the federal first.

## FAQs

### What did Kamala Harris accomplish that matters for AP African American Studies?

She became the first Black American, first woman, and first South Asian American elected vice president in 2020. The course uses her as a key example of advances in Black federal political leadership in Topic 4.15.

### Was Kamala Harris the first Black woman to run for president?

No. [Shirley Chisholm](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/shirley-chisholm "fv-autolink") was the first Black woman to seek a major party's presidential nomination, back in 1972. Harris's milestone is being the first Black woman elected vice president, in 2020.

### How is Kamala Harris different from Condoleezza Rice on the exam?

Rice's firsts are in foreign policy. She was the first Black woman secretary of state and the first Black woman national security advisor under George W. Bush. Harris's first is the vice presidency itself, an elected executive office.

### Why does the AP exam connect Kamala Harris to the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

The act banned racially discriminatory voting laws, which expanded Black voting power and grew the number of Black elected officials between 1970 and 2006. Harris's election is the highest-profile result of that decades-long expansion, making her strong evidence for the act's impact.

### Was Kamala Harris the first African American woman to serve as US Attorney General?

No, that was Loretta Lynch. Harris served as attorney general of California before becoming a US senator and then vice president. This is a common trap on milestone-matching multiple choice questions.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.15 Economic Growth and Black Political Representation](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/15-economic-growth-and-black-political-representation/study-guide/S0nB9HBk5CHVRz7U)

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