Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are welcomed by Zambia Vice President W.K. Mutale Nalumango and her husband, Max Lubinda Nalumango, at Kenneth Kuanda International Airport on Friday in Lusaka, Zambia. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Africa, kicking off a week-long trip where she clocked more than 4,000 miles between Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. In Africa, she promised billions of dollars in aid and convened high-powered meetings. She waved off worries that America’s interest in Africa is just part of its larger plan to combat China’s influence. Yet the trip was more than just business for the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of the American vice president. She also leaned into aspects of her identity and biography more than at any other point in her vice presidency to date.
Well-wishers await the arrival of Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris and President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia hold a press conference following a bilateral meeting at the State House in Lusaka on Friday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema greet people after their press conference and bilateral meeting at the State House. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff accepts a pen from Vice President Kamala Harris as they visit the National Assembly of Zambia on Friday in Lusaka. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
People line the streets as Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade passes by on the way to Panuka Farm on Saturday. Harris visited the farm, just outside the city of Lusaka, to highlight climate-smart agriculture and how climate resilience can advance food security. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff visit an office building that, according to records, sits on the plot of land where her grandfather used to work. Records indicate her grandfather P. V. Gopalan used the house in Lusaka, Zambia, when he was serving as a Indian civil servant. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
People line the streets as Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade passes by on its way to Panuka Farm on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A sign welcoming Vice President Kamala Harris to Zambia hangs over the road as her motorcade transits from Kenneth Kuanda International Airport to the State House on Friday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Panuka Enterprise Ltd. managing director and founder Bruno Mweemba gives Vice President Kamala Harris a tour of Panuka Farm on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Panuka Farm on Saturday just outside the city of Lusaka, Zambia. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris, with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, thanks White House advance staffers before preparing to depart from Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .