Opinion | Kamala Harris, Sunak, Obama, And Their Struggle To Truly 'Belong'

At the Democratic National Convention (DNC) stage in Chicago, Little Amara shouts, "Everybody over here, say 'Kama'." Then joins in her sister, Leela, "Everybody over here, say 'La'." The lesson continues, "Together 'Kama-la.'" The excited crowd shouts in unison, "Kaama-la".

The two young women are the grand-nieces of the US Vice-President and the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, Kamala Harris. It's ironic that a nation that has seen its Vice President work tirelessly for the past three-and-a-half years still needs a lesson in pronouncing her first name. Even then, they don't get it right. 

The pronunciation of her name is just scratching the surface. Kamala, in essence, is yet another example of how across the West, even if political leaders of colour manage to reach the top, they find themselves operating within systems that remain resistant to profound transformation and dominated by White leaders. Behind their historic achievements still lies that complex web of said and unsaid racism, bias, and discrimination, which continues to affect politicians and celebrities of colour, even at the highest levels of power. Barack Obama, Rishi Sunak, and even leaders who deny this reality, like Nikki Haley and Priti Patel, have all had to contend with it.