Archer moms Priya Nambiar (left) and Shilpa Mysoor (right) wear their LOTUS to POTUS t-shirts in support of Kamala Harris presidential campaign. Inspired by Harris’s female and Indian identity, the two created a small business which has reached Harris supporters nationwide. (Photo by Priya Nambiar)

As the 2024 U.S. presidential election looms closer, Archer history classes begin their units on politics, and newly-turned 18-year-old seniors begin gearing up to vote. Alongside student and faculty involvement, Archer parents are participating in fundraising efforts. A new design of political t-shirts in support of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has recently gained attention across the country. Inscribed “Lotus to POTUS,” Archer parents Priya Nambiar and Shilpa Mysoor created this merchandise in August, receiving their first shipment of shirts Aug. 23.

The design refers to Harris’ Southeast Asian identity: Her mother immigrated from India in 1958, when she enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. During Harris’ vice presidential campaign in 2019, a shirt reading “Kamala Auntie” — a common phrase used by Indian people to refer to senior family friends — emerged. 

After she was unable to find the shirt this election cycle, Nambiar recruited family friend Mysoor to create a shirt on Canva with a slogan she’d seen on Instagram, “LOTUS to POTUS.” The phrase is inspired by the Sanskrit meaning of Kamala, which is lotus, and the abbreviation for the U.S. president, POTUS. 

Due to increasing order requests from family friends, they created a Google Form, which has virtually traveled across the country to states including New Jersey and Texas. Their first order of 60 shirts in small, medium and large sold out, and since then, they have ordered three rounds of larger quantities; in total, they have now sold around 150 shirts. All of their proceeds go towards Harris’ campaign. 

“There’s a synergy that has happened with this shirt,” Nambiar said. “Two friends got together and decided, ‘Let’s do something.’ The idea happened, [Mysoor] made the logo, and we ended up knowing the production people for the t-shirts. People love them. At no point do we ever hit a wall… I just hope these shirts just bring a little bit more awareness to people, a little auspiciousness to the campaign and prosperity to her and to all of us.” 

Soon after, the two discovered they had connections to Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, her sister, Maya Harris and actress, producer and comedian Mindy Kaling. Nambiar said she hopes these pivotal figures will help promote the shirts and, therefore, spread cultural awareness for the Harris’ campaign.

As Vice President, Harris is currently the first woman in a head position of the U.S. executive branch. Mysoor said she is astonished that as a global superpower, the U.S. is yet to elect strong female leaders for president unlike other countries such as England and Pakistan. 

“For me, I love the idea of supporting a woman, and the fact that she’s African American and South Asian, is icing on the cake,” Mysoor said. “I’m proud that I’m a daughter of an immigrant. I see how hard people work to get to where they need to go to. And she has worked hard. She’s got good values, and I want her to do well for all of you guys. We’re sending our daughters to Archer, [so] to have a role model in the presidency is amazing.”  

In the Indian religion of Hinduism, the lotus flower symbolizes prosperity. As Nambiar describes it, it is the flower of life. She said she is inspired by the photograph of Harris’ niece watching her aunt speak at the Democratic National Convention, which has become a widespread symbol of her campaign’s effect on young women of color nationwide. 

“The lotus is a flower that grows in mud, and so it is such a symbol of what’s happening right now with American politics — for the first time in a long time, we have had hope,” Nambiar said. “The way these t-shirts have rolled out, I feel like it’s giving us more and more hope. It’s also been our way to do something Michelle Obama wanted us to do. I actually wasn’t that political before, and all of a sudden, this happened.” 

Their largest t-shirt order was from the Democratic Volunteer Center in the Bay Area, which will use the shirts for fundraising for the Harris-Walz campaign. Both Mysoor and Nambiar said they will continue to run the operation in the foreseeable future.

“I want to get the word out there that small actions can lead to big steps. Honestly you just put yourself out there, and I can’t tell you how much positive support you get,” Mysoor said. “We have found family members in random spots in the U.S. who are buying these shirts, like Georgia and Houston, and we’re like, ‘they’re gonna wear this shirt out in public?’ You just never know the kind of connections that happen with something so small and organic. Who knows what will happen? At least we feel like we did our part.”