US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has told Americans that they have assured a new day for America by electing Joe Biden as their president, as she delivered a historic speech after they won the closely-fought presidential election. "Now that the people of the country have given their mandate for the next four years, the real work begins," Indian-origin Harris, 56, said in her victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware.
Harris remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan, who she said prepared her for this day.
"No matter who you voted for, I will strive to be the vice president that Joe was to [former] president [Barack] Obama—loyal, honest and prepared, waking up every day thinking of you and your families. Because now is when the real work begins. You assured a new day for America," Harris said in a powerful, but emotional speech.
Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father from Jamaica, said that while she may be the first woman in this office, she would not be the last. "We are so grateful to Joe and Jill for welcoming our family into theirs on this incredible journey," she said.
"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, maybe she didn't quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible."
"So, I'm thinking about her and about the generations of women, black women," Harris, the first ever woman vice president-elect of the United States, said.
In her speech, she thanked Asian, White, Latina and Native American women throughout America's history who paved the way for this moment. "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."
