The First Interracial Couple To Represent The White House: Kamala Harris And Douglas Emhoff
Getty ImagesVice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff are one of the most famous interracial couples in the United States today.
As the first woman of color sworn in as vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris made history in 2021. Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, celebrated her win alongside her husband, Douglas Emhoff.
Emhoff, who had previously made a name for himself as a lawyer, then acquired the title “second gentleman,” a first in the nation’s history.
But how did the vice president and her husband, who is white and Jewish, become one of the most famous interracial couples in the United States? It all began with a blind date that was set up by a mutual friend of Harris and Emhoff. The two hit it off and Emhoff quickly initiated a second date.
“I’m too old to play games or hide the ball,” Emhoff wrote in an email to Harris, who was California’s Attorney General at the time. “I really like you,” he wrote, “and I want to see if we can make this work.”
The couple dated but decided to take things slow. While Harris had no children of her own, Emhoff had two children from his previous marriage.
“I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in,” she wrote in a Mother’s Day essay for Elle. A year later, Emhoff proposed to her at Harris’ apartment before they went to dinner.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll CallThe famous interracial couple has also been breaking gender role norms.
The couple was married five months later in a courthouse in Santa Barbara, where Harris’ sister, Maya, officiated the nuptials. The wedding included a glass-breaking ceremony to honor Emhoff’s Jewish background.
Besides becoming the first interracial couple to occupy the White House, Harris and Emhoff are also smashing down barriers in another way.
The couple has captured public attention for breaking gender role norms, especially since the role of a vice president had only been filled by a man in previous years. When Harris was chosen as President Joe Biden’s running mate, Emhoff took a leave of absence to help full-time with the campaign — a role most often occupied by a male candidate’s female spouse.
Now, as husband to the vice president, Emhoff is involved in organizing bipartisan gatherings for other spouses of politicians. It’s the first time a male spouse will fill a role like this in the nation’s highest office.
“I think [women’s] success does send a message to girls that this is becoming a different world, and there are possibilities that maybe didn’t exist for their mothers or grandmothers,” said vice presidential scholar Joel K. Goldstein, of the couple’s groundbreaking relationship.
“But it also sends a message to little boys that this is a different world than the one that their fathers and grandfathers grew up in. And Mr. Emhoff is part of that.” As a famous interracial couple breaking gender role norms, Harris and Emhoff are setting an example for people all over the world.
Just decades ago, pairings of different races were largely unthinkable. As our world progresses, we have become more intertwined with one another, and interracial couples are no longer the anomaly that they once were — although people in those relationships can still face discrimination.
Still, when love wins against prejudice, it is a hopeful sign of a more progressive and tolerant world for future generations.
After reading about some of history’s most famous interracial couples, take a look at nine Black heroes who risked it all to fight for America. Then, discover some of the most inspiring survival stories from history.
