Vice President-elect Kamala Harris credited Joe Biden’s “audacity” that allowed her to break “one of the most substantial barriers that exists in this country” and become the first woman to serve in the second-highest office in the land.
“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said Saturday night in a speech after she and Biden were declared winners of the 2020 presidential election following the Democrats’ victory in Pennsylvania. “Because everything little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
Harris took the stage in Wilmington, Del., to Mary J. Blige’s “Work That,” wearing suffragette white. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave some women the right to vote. Her election as Vice President will break several barriers. In addition to being the first woman in the job, she will be the first Black woman, the first Indian-American and the first child of immigrants.
In her victory speech, she said her election delivered a clear message to children all across the country to “dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way others may not, simply because they have never seen it before.”
Harris, a U.S. Senator from California, credited activists who protested against President Donald Trump’s administration, and later campaigned and voted against him for the Democrats’ victory in the race for the White House.
“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,” she said. “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.”
She said supporters “chose hope and unity decency, science—and yes—truth,” adding: “The road ahead will not be easy, but America is ready and so are Joe and I.”
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