Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Makes History

Vice President Elect Kamala Harris will make history as the first woman, African American, and South Asian American US Vice President.

Harris reacted on Twitter to her own and President Elect Joseph R. Biden’s projected win.

“This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it,” Harris tweeted alongside a video.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started,” she added.

This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.pic.twitter.com/Bb9JZpggLN

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020

We did it, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020

The child of immigrants, with a Jamaican Father and Indian mother, Harris reached the heights of public office as district attorney of San Francisco, Attorney General of California, and later senator for the state.

When she was elected to the US Senate in 2016, Harris became the first South Asian American and second African American woman to serve as a senator.

Harris, a democrat, fought for healthcare reform, a path to citizenship for immigrants, progressive tax reform as well as de-criminalization of cannabis.

Born in Oakland, California in 1964, Harris was raised by her Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a biologist who studied breast cancer, and her Jamaican father, Donald J. Harris, a professor of Economics at Stanford University.

Harris attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington D.C., where she studied political science and economics. She then attended law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

After working as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, and later assitant district attorney in San Francisco, Harris was elected as District Attorney of San Francisco in 2002.

After her success as District Attorney of San Francisco, Harris was elected Attorney General of California in 2008. Harris served in the position until 2017, when she was elected to the US Senate from California.

Harris then ran for president in 2020, as part of the largest and most diverse set of candidates in US history. Despite her success and popularity, Harris dropped out of the race in 2019 due to lack of funds. Upon dropping out of the race, Harris endorsed Joe Biden, her future running mate.

When he received the nomination, Biden was expected to choose either a woman or person of color as his running mate. Harris speculated to be among his top choices.

After racial unrest in the country at the murders of unarmed African Americans across the country at the hands of police, Biden and other members of the Democratic party reaffirmed the need for voices of African Americans in the country’s government.

In August of 2020, Biden officially announced Harris as his running mate. Harris was the first Indian American, first African American, and third woman to be chosen as the a vice presidential nominee by a major party in US history.