Harris’ father, economist and retired professor Donald Harris, wrote that their ancestry can be traced back to Hamilton Brown, a slave owner in Jamaica during the 19th century. Reuters reported that Brown was Irish. [Jamaica Global, 9/26/19; Reuters, 8/25/20] 

Snopes and PolitiFact have conducted separate investigations into Donald Harris’ claim and both were unable to confirm the Harrises’ relation to Brown. However, both investigations noted that if Kamala Harris is a descendant of a slave owner, it is possible and likely she is also a descendant of slaves. Snopes stated: “It is well-documented that British and Irish slave owners in the Caribbean (and their counterparts in the American colonies) routinely raped and engaged in illicit sex with female slaves, resulting in many 'illegitimate' children of mixed racial heritage.” [Snopes, 7/2/19; PolitiFact, 8/14/20]

Reuters: Even if Harris is a descendant of a slave owner, she is still a Black American woman. As Reuters concludes on the subject, historical context “undermines the point this claim tries to make - that having a white slave-owner in her ancestry makes Harris or any African American less Black.” [Reuters, 8/25/20]

The Washington Free Beacon reported that “Kamala Harris’s ancestors owned slaves,” citing her father’s research. The Free Beacon contextualized Harris’ ancestry with NBC’s reporting that Mitch McConnell’s great-great-grandfathers owned slaves in Alabama, yet McConnell opposed reparations. [The Washington Free Beacon, 7/9/19]

The next day, Breitbart cited the Free Beacon’s reporting in its own article: “Kamala Harris’s ancestors owned slaves, too.” [Breitbart, 7/10/19]

Radio host and former presidential candidate Larry Elder tweeted a link to the Free Beacon’s article, adding, “Hell, her own father said it was true.” In 2022, Elder continued to attack Harris: “So, if/when blacks get reparations, does Kamala Harris get a check or write a check?” [Twitter, 8/3/19, 7/3/22]

On Fox News, election denier Dinesh D’Souza said Harris shouldn't be considered “African-American” because she “is from the legacy of” slave owners. D’Souza also went on a multiday Twitter rant about Harris’ ancestry, asking, “In what sense then can she claim the African American experience of being descended from slaves and subject to segregation and Jim Crow?” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 8/11/20; Twitter/X, 8/11/20, 8/15/20, 8/17/20; Media Matters, 5/4/22]

Rush Limbaugh: “Those of us who have studied Kamala Harris, those of us who looked into her background, we know she’s not African American. She doesn’t have slave blood, she’s not down for the struggle. She’s not  — none of that. She doesn’t have any attachment, like Obama didn’t. ... Her family was wealthy in Jamaica, and they owned slaves.” [Media Matters, 8/17/20]

The Daily Caller reported: “Kamala Harris descends from slave owner who said slaves were ‘comfortable,’ according to her father.” MAGA figure Mike Davis tweeted a link to the article the next day. [Daily Caller, 8/11/20; Twitter, 8/12/20]

MAGA radio host Michael Savage urged host Greg Kelly to focus on Harris’ ancestry as a line of attack. “Everyone swept it under the rug. You should get that for your show on Monday. Her own father said, ‘Kamala, stop this stuff about slavery. We kept slaves as well.’ People shouldn’t forget that, Greg.” [Newsmax, Huckabee, 7/21/24]

White nationalist streamer Stew Peters wrote, “Kamala Harris pretends to be black but her family owned slaves.” [Twitter/X, 7/23/24; Media Matters, 3/13/23]

Rumble streamer David Freiheit (known as VivaFrei) posted: “They are already framing Kamala as the ‘black woman’, even though she’s half Indian, and her Jamaican father admitted to having a family tree going back to *slave owners*.” [Twitter/X, 7/21/24; Media Matters, 4/11/23]

Pro-Trump commentator and former Turning Point USA contributor Ashley St. Clair posted: “I can’t believe the Democrats would allow a descendant of slave owners like Kamala Harris to be their nominee.” [Twitter/X, 7/21/24; Right Wing Watch, 9/30/19]

The Murdoch-owned New York Post published an article with the headline: “Kamala Harris descended from notorious Irish slave owner: ‘Not a nice fellow.’” [New York Post, 7/23/24]

D’Souza reposted an old Rumble podcast where he discussed “how Kamala Harris invented a civil rights history for herself, to make up for her real history as a descendant of one of Jamaica's largest slave-owners.” He wrote: “I’m re-posting this because it traces Kamala Harris’ lineage—to one of Jamaica’s largest slave-owners!” [Twitter/X, 7/22/24]

Trump confidant Sean Hannity brought up the Free Beacon’s 2019 article, adding, “Let’s see what the media mob does with the vetting of Kamala Harris, what they find out.” “My guess is I will do their job on radio and TV,” Hannity said. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/23/24]

Right-wing personality Andy Ngo wrote that Harris “has falsely rebranded herself as being relatable to black Americans in the hood” even though her  “Jamaican ancestry comes from a wealthy Scots-Irish slave owner.” [Twitter/X, 7/23/24; Media Matters, 8/28/19]

Right-wing media have lobbed racist and misogynistic attacks at Harris since she announced her candidacy for president, including labeling her “the ultimate diversity, equity, and inclusion candidate.” [Media Matters, 7/23/2024]