Kamala Harris became vice-president-elect of the United States, the first time in history that a woman and a woman of color had been elected to such a position in the White House. Read on to know all about Kamala Harris.
Who is Kamala Harris?
Harris has always been seen as moderate compared to other far-left Democrats such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In last year’s presidential campaign, Harris portrayed herself as one who could appeal to both progressives and moderates. Rather than attempting to bring an end to the economy, her policy thinking focused on gradual, targeted effects, concentrating in particular on vulnerable communities such as women, people of color, and low-income Americans. With low polling figures, Harris ultimately dropped out of the race in December 2019, and later endorsed Biden.
Harris is the daughter of a native Indian mother and a Jamaican-born father and was born in Oakland, California. She studied at Howard University and is part of a popular ‘Alpha Kappa alpha’ Black Sorority. She was the first black woman to be the California District Procurator in San Francisco and California’s first Asian American and Black Woman Procurator. In 2016, the 55-year-old was elected to the US Senate with a landslide victory.
Known as the “female Obama,” Senator Kamala Devi Harris first scripted history by becoming the United States’ first woman, Black and Indian-American vice president.
Why did Joe Biden choose his running mate, Kamala Harris?
Though Biden declared he was going to choose a woman as his rider, Harris was not considered a favorite. Owing to the latter’s lack of experience in domestic electoral politics, Harris possibly pipped Senator Janet Rice. Biden decided on Harris only after a thorough review that forged new political alliances, deepened existing rivalries, and further promoted the women’s cohort as leaders of their group.
Harris honours the women who paved the way for her victory in her historic speech as VP-elect
Kamala Harris paid tribute to the women who paved the way for its historic gain in her first public address as Vice President-elect. Black women “often ignored but so often proven to be the backbone of our democracy” and their late mother, cancer research Shyamala Gopalan Harris, are the voters fighting for the security and protection of the right to vote.
“Tonight, I am reflecting on their fight, on their determination, and on their vision’s strength to see what has become unburdened. And I’m on their shoulders, “she said in the Chase Centre in Wilmington, Delaware, with thousands of enthusiastic supporters.
I hope every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. pic.twitter.com/E4GYfr2QoO
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 8, 2020
The first woman, Black, and Asian American vice president, Harris, who is about to serve the country also thanked former Vice President Joe Biden for being “audacious” to select her as his co-ordinator. “But, though in this office I am going to be the first woman, I am not going to be the last,” she stressed.
While I may be the first, I won’t be the last. pic.twitter.com/R5CousWtdx
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 8, 2020
Harris tweeted, “Now the real work begins,” soon after her acceptance speech. She said that the path ahead will not be easy, but “America is ready.”
Harris will become the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the US government with this historic victory, four years after Donald Trump beat former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Also Read: Inspiring Indian Women Who Influences Our Thinking
