Black clergy who know Vice President Kamala Harris, now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values. A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church. Religious leaders and theologians say Harris’ candidacy has special symbolic significance following President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race. Not only because she would be the nation’s first woman president, but she’s a Black American with South Asian roots and her two cultures are intrinsically linked.
