Marie Claire November 7, 2020
Photo credit: Tasos Katopodis - Getty Images
Good evening! Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you, thank you. Good evening. So, thank you, good evening. So, Congressman John Lewis, Congressman John Lewis before his passing wrote "Democracy is not a state, it is an act." And what he meant was that America's democracy is not guaranteed.
It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. To guard it and never take it for granted. And protecting our democracy takes struggle. It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it.
And there is progress. Because we, the people, have the power to build a better future.
And when our very democracy was on the ballot in this election with the very soul of America at stake and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America. To our campaign staff and volunteers, this extraordinary team, thank you for bringing more people than ever before into the democratic process.
And so making this victory possible. To the poll workers and election officials across our country who have worked tirelessly to make sure every vote is counted, our nation owes you a debt of gratitude.
You have protected the integrity of our democracy. And to the American people who make up our beautiful country, thank you for turning out in record numbers to make your voices heard. And I know times have been challenging, especially the last several months.
The grief, sorrow, and pain, the worries and the struggles, but we have also witnessed your courage, your resilience and the generosity of your spirit. For four years, you marched and organized for equality and justice, for our lives and for our planet and then you voted!
And you delivered a clear message. You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth! You chose Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America!
And Joe is a healer, a uniter, a tested and steady hand. A person whose own experience of loss gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purpose. And a man with a big heart who loves with abandon. It's his love for Jill, who will be an incredible first lady.
It's his love for Hunter and Ashley and his grandchildren and the entire Biden family. And while I first knew Joe as vice president, I really got to know him as the father who loved Beau, my dear friend who we remember here today.
And to my husband Doug and our children Cole and Ella and my sister Maya and our whole family, I love y'all more than I can ever express. We are so grateful to Joe and Jill for welcoming our family into theirs on this incredible journey. And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today, my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts. When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't quite imagine this moment.
But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible, and so I am thinking about her and about the generations of women, Black women, Asian, white, Latina, Native 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 often, too often overlooked but so often proved they are the backbone of our democracy.
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.
Tonight, I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been. And I stand on their shoulders. 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 will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities and 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. And to the American people, no matter who you voted for, I will strive to be a vice president like Joe was to President Obama: loyal, honest, and prepared; waking up every day thinking of you and your family, because now is when the real work begins, the hard work, the necessary work, the good work, the essential work to save lives and beat this epidemic.
To rebuild our economy so it works for working people, to root out systemic racism in our justice system and society. To combat the climate crisis, to unite our country and heal the soul of our nation. And the road ahead will not be easy. But America is ready. And so are Joe and I.
We have elected a president who represents the best in us, a leader the world will respect and our children will look up to. A commander in chief who will respect our troops and keep our country safe and a president for all Americans.
Kamala Harris Wears Suffragette White to Deliver Victory Speech
Marie Claire November 7, 2020
Photo credit: Tasos Katopodis - Getty ImagesMore
Tonight, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation in Wilmington, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden. For the occasion, Harris—who will be the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, as well as the first vice president who is Black and of South Asian descent, making history—wore all white, a nod to the suffragette movement.
In the early 1900s, the suffragettes wore white to attend marches, and recently many women politicians have worn the color as a political statement. In 2019, several freshman congresswomen including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Madeleine Dean, and Ilhan Omar wore white suits to their swearing-in ceremony, and Hillary Clinton wore white during her run for president in 2016 as well as to Donald Trump's inauguration—quite the message.
"While I might be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said in her address as hundreds in the crowd cheered. "Because every little girl watching tonight sees this is a country of possibilities."
Photo credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT - Getty Images
"Dream with ambition," she said to all the little girls watching. "Lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others will not simply because they haven't seen it before. but know we will applaud you every step of the way."
In her speech, Harris thanked the poll workers who worked tirelessly over the last few days, and, of course, the people who turned up to vote. "For four years you marched for equality, justice, for our lives and for our planet. And then you voted. And you delivered a clear message: You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next President of the United States of America."
A moment in history we will never forget.
Marie Claire November 7, 2020
Photo credit: Tasos Katopodis - Getty ImagesMore
Tonight, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation in Wilmington, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden. For the occasion, Harris—who will be the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, as well as the first vice president who is Black and of South Asian descent, making history—wore all white, a nod to the suffragette movement.
In the early 1900s, the suffragettes wore white to attend marches, and recently many women politicians have worn the color as a political statement. In 2019, several freshman congresswomen including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Madeleine Dean, and Ilhan Omar wore white suits to their swearing-in ceremony, and Hillary Clinton wore white during her run for president in 2016 as well as to Donald Trump's inauguration—quite the message.
"While I might be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said in her address as hundreds in the crowd cheered. "Because every little girl watching tonight sees this is a country of possibilities."
Photo credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT - Getty Images
"Dream with ambition," she said to all the little girls watching. "Lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others will not simply because they haven't seen it before. but know we will applaud you every step of the way."
In her speech, Harris thanked the poll workers who worked tirelessly over the last few days, and, of course, the people who turned up to vote. "For four years you marched for equality, justice, for our lives and for our planet. And then you voted. And you delivered a clear message: You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next President of the United States of America."
A moment in history we will never forget.
Kamala Harris Telling Her Great-Niece
“You Could Be President” Is Going Viral
Let this be your election week balm.
After days of waiting on election results, it's finally official: Kamala Harris has been elected as the first female vice president, as well as the first Black and South Asian-American V.P.
Once the news was confirmed, people began celebrating the historical significance of the moment on Twitter.
Harris was also the second-ever Black woman and first South Asian-American to serve on the U.S. Senate when she was elected in 2017.
"When I was elected the first woman district attorney of San Francisco, and I was the first woman of color to be elected district attorney of any county in California, which is a state of 40 million people," Harris said about breaking barriers during an interview in 2019. "When I was attorney general of California, and elected to the United States Senate … so it’s pretty much every race I’ve run."
Harris, who was running for president at the time before dropping out of the race and being named as Biden's VP nominee, said, "Reporters will ask me, what do you think about this whole question of ‘is America ready for you?’ What I tell them is, you know what? This is not a new conversation for me. I’ve heard this conversation every time I have — and now here’s the operative word — won. But every time, every time, I ran for these offices: They’re not ready for you. It’s not your turn. It’s not your time. Nobody like you has done this before. Oh, I think you’d be great, but I don’t think everybody else is ready. And I didn’t listen. And of course we won. But the more important point that I’m making here is you didn’t listen. The people didn’t listen."
She added, "We cannot wait for other people to give us permission, to tell us what is possible."
Let this be your election week balm.
After days of waiting on election results, it's finally official: Kamala Harris has been elected as the first female vice president, as well as the first Black and South Asian-American V.P.
Once the news was confirmed, people began celebrating the historical significance of the moment on Twitter.
Harris was also the second-ever Black woman and first South Asian-American to serve on the U.S. Senate when she was elected in 2017.
"When I was elected the first woman district attorney of San Francisco, and I was the first woman of color to be elected district attorney of any county in California, which is a state of 40 million people," Harris said about breaking barriers during an interview in 2019. "When I was attorney general of California, and elected to the United States Senate … so it’s pretty much every race I’ve run."
Harris, who was running for president at the time before dropping out of the race and being named as Biden's VP nominee, said, "Reporters will ask me, what do you think about this whole question of ‘is America ready for you?’ What I tell them is, you know what? This is not a new conversation for me. I’ve heard this conversation every time I have — and now here’s the operative word — won. But every time, every time, I ran for these offices: They’re not ready for you. It’s not your turn. It’s not your time. Nobody like you has done this before. Oh, I think you’d be great, but I don’t think everybody else is ready. And I didn’t listen. And of course we won. But the more important point that I’m making here is you didn’t listen. The people didn’t listen."
She added, "We cannot wait for other people to give us permission, to tell us what is possible."
Harris was also the second-ever Black woman and first South Asian-American to serve on the U.S. Senate when she was elected in 2017.
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