Before Kamala Harris’ historic speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, her second cousins took the stage to give an unusual tutorial to the audience. Introduced by actor Kerry Washington, the two girls offered to help the audience learn how to correctly pronounce the name of the US Vice President.
“It has come to my attention that there are those who are struggling – or pretending to struggle – with the correct pronunciation of our future president’s name. Confusion is understandable. Not disrespect. So tonight we’re going to help everyone do well,'” the actor said before the two children walked on to a cheering crowd.
Eight-year-old Amara and six-year-old Leela, daughters of Harris’ niece Meena Harris, wore a pink pantsuit and a blue dress.
“First you say ‘comma,’ like the comma in a sentence,” Amara said. “Then you say ‘la’ like la-la-la-la-la,” Leela added.
Then it was the audience’s turn to practice. “Comma! La!, Comma! La!, Kama La,” they roared.
Amara and Leela Ajagu — the daughters of Kamala Harris’ niece, Meena Harris — joined actress Kerry Washington on stage to teach people — hint, hint — how to name their “aunt,” “Kamala.” to pronounce. pic.twitter.com/MLmaOd2BG4
— Andreas Sander (@andreas212nyc) August 23, 2024
The girls’ mother and Harris’ niece also took the stage to talk about growing up with her. “I grew up in Oakland, California, in a home full of special women, my mother, my grandmother and my aunt who showed me the meaning of service, helped her sister, a 17-year-old single mother who fought for justice for America people and still cooking family dinner on Sundays. She guided me. Now she is mentoring my own children and I know she will move our country forward,” she said.
In the past, several leaders have stumbled in pronouncing the name of the leader of Indian origin.
Most notably, her now rival and Republican candidate Donald Trump has prided himself on mispronouncing her name, often using it as a way to dismiss her as competition.
When asked why, Trump said he had heard Harris’ first name said “about seven different ways.”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter what I say. I don’t care,” he said.