Kamala Harris sworn in as the US’s first female, Black and Asian south vice-president

Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday, becoming the first woman, as well as the first woman of African American and south Asian descent to be sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America.

A Major Turning Point

Harris was sworn in using two Bibles, one from the late Thurgood Marshall, the first Black supreme court justice, and one from Regina Shelton, a close family friend described as being like a surrogate mother for Harris and her sisters while they were growing up. She was sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the supreme court.

Her victory marks a historic moment in American history. While there have been women on presidential tickets as potential vice-presidents, none had emerged victorious. She was escorted through the Capitol by Eugene Goodman, the heroic Capitol police officer who helped distract rioters from invading the Senate floor during the now infamous insurrection.

Harris’s elevation is in line with Biden’s presidential goals: the installation of women and people of color in powerful positions in his administration where only white men were previously allowed to be.

Everything Is Possible

Making introductory remarks before Harris took the oath of office, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar noted that Harris “stands on the shoulders of so many on this platform.”

She further said that with Harris as vice president, “little girls and little boys across the world will know that anything and everything is possible. And in the end, that is America.”

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown hailed the significance of Harris’s new position for Americans and young Black people in particular.

Brown made a statement declaring that “American workers will finally have someone on their side in the White House, and millions of girls—especially Black and brown girls—all over the country are seeing that there is no limit to their dreams, and they belong in every room where decisions are made.”