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Home AFRICAN DIASPORA

Kamala Harris makes history as first woman, Black American and South Asian-American veep: ‘She’s just a strong human being’

Stephen Small by Stephen Small
January 22, 2021
Reading Time: 10min read
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Kamala Harris makes history as first woman, Black American and South Asian-American veep: ‘She’s just a strong human being’

Kamala Harris is sworn in as the 49th vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Capitol in Washington. (Saul Loeb/AP)

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She was singular in the many ways she made history Wednesday, yet she stood in solidarity with women everywhere.

Kamala Harris raised her hand, swore her inauguration oath and became the first woman, Black American and South Asian-American to hold the second-highest office in the country.

Dressed in bipartisan violet — a signature color of suffragists — she ascended to her role as the 49th vice president of the United States in a ceremony presided over by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the highest court in the land.

It was a transcendent moment for equality and unity — and a stark rebuke of the prior administration’s divisive rhetoric.

Women from coast-to-coast flooded social media with pictures of themselves and their daughters savoring every shot of Harris on that stage.

“It’s an honor to be your vice president,” Harris, 56, said in one of her first Twitter posts in her new role.

“Let’s get to work,” she wrote in another.

Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Harris has been working toward this history-making moment her entire life.

The daughter of a father from Jamaica and a mother from India, she was largely raised in Berkeley, Calif., by single mom Shyamala Gopalan, who graduated from the University of Delhi at 19 and moved to the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition and endocrinology by age 25, the same age she gave birth to Harris.

Gopalan, who died in 2009, was an accomplished scientist and civil rights activist who made sure Harris and her younger sister, Maya, knew how to fight for their values.

“Shyamala was fearless. She taught her daughters to always be the best they could be and not compare themselves to anyone else. To do what’s in your heart. And Kamala embodies that,” Derreck Johnson, a longtime family friend who went to Catholic high school with Maya and attended Harris’ inauguration in person Wednesday, told the Daily News.

Then-Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris (center), Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (left) and Harris’ high school friend Derreck Johnson are pictured together in Washington ahead of the inauguration.
Then-Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris (center), Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (left) and Harris’ high school friend Derreck Johnson are pictured together in Washington ahead of the inauguration. (Derreck Johnson)

Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her law degree at Hastings College in San Francisco and became a sex-crimes prosecutor in Northern California before first running for office.

She became the first woman elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2004.

Harris went on to become the first woman of color elected as California’s attorney general and the first Black person to represent California in the U.S. Senate after she won the 2016 election for the seat vacated by Barbara Boxer.

When she and Joe Biden won the White House, she delivered a stirring speech filled with quotes that quickly became iconic.

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” she said as she assumed her place in history.

“To watch this person I’ve known since we were 16 become vice president was a beautiful thing,” Johnson, 56, said Wednesday.

“A group of us here all grew up together in Oakland. We all went through an identity crisis coming up, but [Harris] always knew who she was. She’s just a strong human being.”

He said it was emotional and “euphoric” to witness Harris’ inauguration in person.

“She’s so, so smart but also so down to earth and fun. I knew she was going to be successful,” the restaurateur said. “I teared up today and thought of her mother smiling down, and my mother, too. They worked so hard to make sure we got the best educations.”

President-elect Joe Biden, left, fist bumps Vice President Kamala Harris after she was sworn in.
President-elect Joe Biden, left, fist bumps Vice President Kamala Harris after she was sworn in. (Kevin Dietsch/AP)

President Biden paid tribute to his vice president during his inaugural address, signaling the important role she’ll assume in the new administration.

“We see the first woman in American history elected to the national office, Vice President Kamala Harris. Don’t tell me things can’t change,” he said.

In addition to her work in the executive branch, Harris also will serve as the tie-breaking vote in the evenly split Senate.

By NANCY DILLON

Tags: African AmericanAfrican NewsBlack NewsPolitics
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Stephen Small

Stephen Small

Rev. Small realized God was present in his life as a child, and grew into an adult with a passion for knowing and understanding God, people and the difficulties of life. Rev. Small soon can to know Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit has he experienced the storms, trails, and tribulations of life as a Black man in America. Rev. Stephen C. Small survived numerous demonic assaults on his life, which gave meaning to God’s grace and mercy. Rev. Small reasoned that God’s presence in the world gives hope, meaning and purpose; it is the essence of learning, love and relationships. Rev. Small humbled himself and opened his heart and mind to listening, learning and obeying God. On sabbatical from a business career, Rev. Small earned a Biblical Studies degree, and Master of Divinity. Rev. Small’s faith and dedication to serving God is the reason he created Trueword Ministry; TWM’s website as an evangelism tool, designed to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to Africans, African Descendants and the entire human race.

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