Kamala Harris Bought an $8 Million Malibu House and Apparently We Should All Be Outraged (4 of 4)

The racial identity issue is something Harris has had to contend with her entire political life. During both her 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, critics questioned various aspects of her black identity, pointing to her Jamaican and Indian heritage, her upbringing in relatively affluent and predominantly white environments, her years in Montreal, and her marriage to a white man.

The Point Dume purchase therefore provides an irresistible opportunity for critics: Harris once talked about the significance of being surrounded by Black people, and now she lives somewhere where relatively few Black people live. There is a certain irony to this, but it isn’t the contradiction the conservative critics want it to be.

At no point has Harris suggested that every residence she ever occupies would need to have the same racial composition as Howard University’s campus. She described what the experience of Howard meant to her. Those are two vastly different statements.

And perhaps the silliest part of this entire controversy is that Harris has now managed to turn one of the least politically interesting activities imaginable (buying a house!) into a referendum on the sociology of American racial identity.

For Harris, the situation is almost comically awkward. She spent years being criticized for not being “Black enough” by some people (including the current President), and now they’re trying to dunk on her for living in a neighborhood that isn’t Black enough.

There may be no possible residential floor plan that satisfies everyone. So Harris has settled for the Pacific Ocean, four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and five parking spaces. Considering the alternatives, that’s probably the safest neighborhood in which to leave the argument.