California
‘I’ve never had an identity crisis’: Kamala Harris and the power of mixed-race California
Hi and welcome to the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. I’m Shelby Grad, deputy managing editor for news, filling in for David Lauter today.
A generational shift
Thirty years ago, the Los Angeles Times polled residents of Orange County about their attitudes on interracial dating and romantic relationships. The poll found young people were highly supportive, with nearly 60% of those ages 18 to 34 saying they had dated someone from another racial or ethnic group.
Orange County was just beginning to shed its image as a conservative white bastion, and the survey underscored big divides between the older generation and the younger.
“My boyfriend is Latino,” a white Fullerton bank teller told the paper. “I haven’t run up against any resistance from my parents, but my grandparents don’t like it.”
I was a young reporter in the newsroom when the poll came out, and I remember being impressed with the findings. And that sentiment came to represent the way a new generation of Californians defined their experience — with the belief that the mixing of races is not only our strength, but our secret weapon.
Today, nearly 16% of Californians identify as being of two or more races. And that includes the woman who is poised to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
A 78-year-old man’s recent comments questioning Kamala Harris’ multiracial identity could easily be written off as the outdated notion of earlier generations. But it was Donald Trump, and his words had a political purpose.
Trump falsely claimed that Harris “was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn, she became a Black person.”
The news cycle since his comments Wednesday during a session with three reporters at the annual convention of the National Assn. of Black Journalists has thoroughly discredited and dissected his words.
A California childhood
But perhaps it is more instructive to hear in Harris’ own words what it was like to grow up as a mixed-race Californian, born in Oakland to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father.
“My Indian mother knew she was raising two Black daughters,” Harris told The Times’ Michael Finnegan in 2019. “But that’s not to the exclusion of who I am in terms of my Indian heritage.
“I grew up going to a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple,” she explained.
She described a rich childhood of family visits to India and of Aretha Franklin’s gospel rendition of “Young, Gifted and Black“ as a soundtrack of her youth in a Black middle-class neighborhood in the flats of Berkeley.
Explaining identity to others
Harris went even deeper during an “Asian Enough” podcast interview with Frank Shyong and Jen Yamada in 2020. She talked about the challenges of explaining your identity to those unfamiliar with it.
“You’re required to explain things about yourself that otherwise you may not be required to explain. And that can be challenging for a number of reasons, including because you know, at that moment, you might prefer that the interview was about your plan for the economy,” she said with a laugh. “But you’re trying to help people figure out who you are even though you’re really comfortable in your own skin.”
Harris said she understood the need for voters — especially those never exposed to the diversity of her California — to get to know her.
“The challenge becomes, then, when you don’t fit in someone’s preconceived notion of who is president of the United States, because their only reference point is who has been president of the United States, and not one of those people looks like you, it presents a challenge,” she told Shyong and Yamada.
But Harris made a point of saying those struggles were never hers.
“I’ve never had an identity crisis,” she said, adding, “The frustration I have is that people think I should have gone through such a crisis and need to explain it.”
And she credited growing up in the Bay Area as one reason for that clear sense of identity : “There was such a cultural mix of people in the community. … It just wasn’t an issue for me.”
What else you should be reading
The must-read: Why California’s surge in immigration is lifting our economy
The exodus: Chevron, the oil giant born in California 145 years ago, is moving to Texas
The L.A. Times special: Tired of text spam from political fundraisers? Here’s what to do
Until next time,
Shelby Grad
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California
Suspected Northern California library shooter charged with murder, faces life in prison
OROVILLE — Bradley Scott Sayer was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and discharge of firearm with injury during his arraignment Thursday at the Butte County Superior Court.
Sayer, 18, is the suspect in the Chico library shooting on Monday in which two men were killed, and he could face life in prison. If convicted, Sayer is facing the highest penalty for capital murder with special circumstances, which would be life in prison without the possibility of parole. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, who is the prosecutor of the case, said the court is not seeking the death penalty.
Sayer was not given bail, as Ramsey said the court felt Sayer was “too dangerous.” Ramsey also said Sayer is on suicide watch in at the Butte County Jail.
“We felt that it would be too dangerous to let him go at this juncture,” Ramsey said. “He planned a mass shooting, and there’s no reason to believe that if he was let go, that he wouldn’t continue to do that.”
Sayer was staying at his father’s house, who was out of town, the day of the shooting, according to Ramsey. He then went to the closet in his father’s room and took two .22 caliber rifles and a 20-gauge shotgun, as well as several boxes of “No. 3 birdshot shells” before leaving for the library.
Sayer will appear in court next at 8:30 a.m. July 16 at the Butte County Superior Court, where he is expected to enter a plea. He is being represented by Roberto Marquez as retained counsel.
Autopsies
The Chico Police Department released a final update regarding the shooting case. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office completed the autopsies of both Jacob Cody Hull and Robert Johnson.
“The autopsies were completed; results indicate that both victims died as result of gunshot wounds. The wounds are consistent with a shotgun being used. The decedents will be turned over to their families who will be making funeral arrangements. The suspect remains in custody at the Butte County Jail being held in isolation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
California
CA state senator physically, verbally harassed at pride parade for Israel stance | The Jerusalem Post
California State Senator Scott Wiener was harassed for his stance on Gaza during the San Francisco Trans March on Friday, to the point where it was no longer safe for him to remain, Wiener said.
A group of people were so “physically and verbally aggressive that it was impossible for me to safely remain in the park,” Wiener stated, adding that this was the first time he did not participate in the march.
Wiener was surrounded by people who made statements about his “Israeli handlers, among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements,” Wiener said.
“We f***ing hate you. You stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel,” one person yelled in a video later shared on social media.
Wiener stated that while he has no objection to anyone disagreeing, opposing, or protesting him, the “harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.”
“In San Francisco, we’re better than that,” he added.
Mayor Daniel Lurie made a statement on X/Twitter condemning the harassment, calling the language used “targeted, hateful, and antisemitic.”
In San Francisco, we welcome disagreement and respectful dialogue around issues many of us feel passionately about – but we cannot allow harassment and threats of violence,” Lurie wrote.
The California State Senate Democratic Caucus also released a statement on X, condemning the hate Wiener received.
“The harassment and violence shown from yesterday’s march in San Francisco towards Senator Scott Wiener is unacceptable and must be called out,” the statement read.
The caucus also pointed to Wiener’s work on legislation “advancing the rights and protections for Transgender, Gender Expansive and Intersex people.”
“The CA Senate Democratic Caucus and CA LGBTQ Caucus jointly denounce the verbal harassment and attacks he experienced,” the statement said.
California
At least 117 dead dogs found in search at California animal rescue accused of abuse, officials said
California authorities unearthed at least 117 dogs in “various states of decomposition” on Friday, many of which appeared to have been killed by gunshot, as part of an ongoing investigation into an animal rescue organization.
The bodies were discovered during a search of Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, California, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Officials had been granted a warrant that included excavation of the property for evidence that dogs had been buried in “mass graves.”
The 117 canine remains were those found mostly intact at two sites, the sheriff’s office said. Nearly two dozen skulls, “hundreds” of bones, and 600 dog collars were also recovered on the property.
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal thanked the law enforcement teams and forensic veterinarians who assisted in the recovery. In a statement, he noted that the investigation is “just getting started.”
“The determination all of these professionals showed while working through this horrific scene is something we will not forget,” Honsal said.
NBC News was not able to reach Shannon Miranda, the founder of Miranda’s Rescue, by phone on Sunday. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release last week that it had been contacted in April regarding allegations of fraud, animal abuse and animal cruelty at the rescue, and that the case had been assigned to the Major Crimes Division.
An initial search warrant was executed on May 1, at which time officials seized evidence related to the investigation. Investigators also determined that a “significant number” of animals surrendered to the rescue had not been accounted for.
A second search warrant, executed Thursday, led to the recovery of the canine remains.
Forensic veterinarians were able to examine 71 of the bodies on-site Thursday but did not have time to reach the remaining 46. A preliminary examination — including X-rays of the remains — found that “many of those animals showed evidence of bullet fragments.”
Investigators are working to identify dogs that were microchipped.
Other remains were found “in advanced stages of decomposition” and were deemed too severely deteriorated to be removed from their burial site, the sheriff’s office said.
This investigation is expected to be lengthy, the sheriff’s office cautioned in a statement to the public.
“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office understands the public’s desire for accountability and justice,” it said. “However, it is our responsibility to conduct a complete, impartial, and legally sound investigation while ensuring that the constitutional and legal rights of everyone involved are protected throughout the process.”
No charges were announced.
Miranda was not available for comment, but posted a statement on June 18 addressing “recent media coverage and online commentary,” on the rescue’s website. The statement described two incidents that had “drawn particular attention” both involving animals that were killed at the facility.
The first involved a dog that killed another animal and attacked a third; the second involved a dog that lunged at a stroller carrying a baby, according to the statement.
“These were not decisions made lightly and were based on my responsibility to protect both the public and the animals in our care,” Miranda wrote.
The statement also described Miranda’s Rescue is a no-kill shelter, meaning animals are not euthanized simply to free up space, but acknowledged euthanasia is sometimes necessary.
“Whenever euthanasia has been necessary, I have notified local authorities in advance, even when told that reporting is not required,” Miranda wrote. “I believe it is important to maintain a clear record of these difficult decisions.”
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