On Saturday, after days of uncertainty, the 2020 election was called for Vice President Joe Biden, making his running mate Senator Kamala Harris the first female, first Black and first South Asian woman to become Vice President-Elect in U.S. history.
“So, I’m thinking about her and about the generations of women — Black Women. Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight,” said Harris in her victory speech on Saturday night. “Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, 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.”
Senator Harris has made a career out of breaking barriers, becoming the first Black female district attorney in California and then made history again by becoming the first female, Black and South Asian attorney general in the state of California. After being elected to the Senate in 2016, she made a name for herself in the Senate as fierce advocate for women’s rights and for her fearless cross-examinations of Trump administration officials.
Harris’ speech on Saturday night will go down in history. She called for unity and healing after the Trump administration and highlighted the historic moment for women
“All the women who 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 declared. “And what a testament it is to Joe’s character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his vice president. But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
Sources: NYT 11/8/20; Feminist Newswire 8/12/20
