Kamala Harris pays tribute to women who “paved the way” in history-making victory speech

Harris will be the first woman and woman of colour to take the office of Vice President of the United States

Kamala Harris has paid tribute to the women who “paved the way” for her to become the first female and female of colour Vice President of the United States.

Harris made history today (November 7) as she was elected to office alongside the 46th President of America Joe Biden.

Ahead of the President-elect speaking at a victory event in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris took to the podium to share her own thanks and thoughts on the historic moment.

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During her speech, the Vice President-elect thanked her family and remembered her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris. “When she came here from India at the age of 19 she maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment,” she said. “But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible.

“So I am thinking about her and the generations of women – Black women, Asian, white, Latina, natives American women – who throughout our nation’s history have paved the way for this moment tonight. Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all, including the Black women who are too often overlooked but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy.”

 

Harris continued: “All the women who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century – 100 years ago with the 19th amendment, 55 years ago with the voting rights act and now in 2020 with a new generation of women in our country who cast their ballots and continued the fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard.”

She also praised Biden for having the “audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists” in America and choose a female running mate. “But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris promised. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.

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“To the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message – dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.”

Biden took to the stage after Harris and called for unity and an end to “this grim era of demonisation in America” in his first speech as President-elect.

The incoming administration will be inaugurated into the White House on January 20, 2021, when Trump’s presidency will officially end. When Biden’s win was announced today, however, the sitting President announced plans to launch a prosecution campaign on Monday (November 9) in an effort to ensure “the rightful winner is seated”.

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