No, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris did not recently 'turn black' as Donald Trump claimed

Context

During a convention for Black journalists (NAJB) in Chicago on July 31, Donald Trump falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he had previously known to be of Indian heritage, had only recently "made a turn" to "become a black person." (see the video here)

More specifically, he stated, "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?" The interviewer responded that Harris has always identified as a Black woman, to which Trump replied that he respects either identity, but the Vice President "obviously doesn't."

Kamala Harris has articulated her racial identity on multiple occasions throughout her career, embracing both her Indian and Jamaican roots. However, reaching new political milestones, such as becoming Vice President or the likely Democratic nominee in the 2024 elections, catalyzes false claims and misinformation. This is likely due to her rising political prominence and the scrutiny that comes with it. The claims vary widely, with some inaccurately suggesting that Kamala Harris is lying about her race (archived here) or that she has "changed her race" (archived here). Others claim the vice president is using her race for political gain (archived here) or merely pretending to be black (archived here). 

Although the racial identity of Kamala Harris has been the focus point for many claims in the light of the U.S. elections, there have also been claims about misattributed quotes, fake images, and misrepresented photos. Logically Facts has debunked some of those, including doubts about her eligibility to be the president of the U.S., misattributed footage allegedly showing the vice president as a prostitute, fake photos showing the Vice president with Jeffrey Epstein, and a falsely attributed quote.   

In fact

According to the autobiography of Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold, her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was an Indian-American cancer researcher from Tamil Nadu. Her father, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American economist of African descent. Both immigrated to the United States to receive their doctorate degrees. Kamala was born in California and is thus a natural-born U.S. citizen, meeting all eligibility requirements for the presidency of the United States. Her diverse heritage enables her to identify as both Black and South Asian American. This is also confirmed by the one-drop rule — an informal social and legal principle that classifies anyone with even a trace of African ancestry as Black. 

In 1986, Harris graduated from Howard University, one of the country's most esteemed Historically Black Colleges and Universities. While there, she also joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's oldest Black sorority. In a 2016 interview, Kamala Harris said that her mother "...had two Black babies, and she raised them to be two Black women." Moreover, according to a fact-check by Reuters, in a 2012 interview hosted by digital news organization The Wrap, Harris referred to herself as both African-American and Asian-American. Thus, claims that Kamala Harris has just recently embraced her Black identity are false. 

Trump's claim about the racial identity of Kamala Harris has also been debunked by CNN, AP News, Reuters and BBC, among many. 

The verdict

Kamala Harris has both Indian and Jamaican origins. She has long publicly identified as both Black and South Asian American.