By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
(Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional reaction)
Vice President Kamala Harris shared her origin story with a nation Wednesday night as she accepted the nomination for president of the United States.
She paid homage to both her Indian American mother and Jamaican American father who she both credited with instilling in her the values that drive her today.
Asian Americans in Congress reacted positively to the speech with Rep Grace Meng (D-NY), Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus simply proclaiming, “freedom and joy,” a constant theme over the four-day convention.
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Harris said her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris came to the U.S. from India at age 19 to “pursue her dream of curing cancer.” She attended the University of California, Berkeley where she met Donald Harris, a man from Jamaica studying economics.
“They fell in love in that most American way- while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. She says her father taught her how to fight for her beliefs.
The two would eventually divorce and Harris’s mother “raised us (her and her sister Maya) to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage.”
The Vice President credits her mother for her compassion and sense of public service. She learned the fight for justice is a “shared responsibility.”
“My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. And oh, how I wish she were here tonight but I know she’s looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25-year-old Indian woman—all of five feet tall—who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California.
“On that day, she probably could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now speaking these words: I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States of America,” she said to thunderous applause.
Harris did not mention that she is now the first Asian American and Black women to be nominated for President, but no doubt the crowd at the United Center recognized the significance of the moment.
Many women- Black, Asian, White and Latina and Native American – openly wept as they took in the moment.
Harris went on to touch on many issues including immigration and border security.
“We can secure a pathway to citizenship and secure our border,” she declared.
She pledged to bring back the bipartisan border security deal that conservative Republicans and Democrats agreed to, but that former President Trump ordered his GOP allies to kill.
It was a bill that angered liberal Democrats with Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) of the Progressive Congressional Caucus saying the changes it would make to the asylum-seeking process would send “too many people back to certain death, discrimination, or other harm.”
Harris also pledged to create what she called an “opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed.”
She said she would increase the housing stock, lower prescription drug costs and bring prices down. It’s an area the Republicans feel she is vulnerable on as they attempt to blame her and President Biden for high grocery bills and gas costs.
“Families are feeling the pain of rising prices and inflation at the gas pump, the grocery store, and their dwindling savings accounts,” said Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi in a statement sent to AsAmNews. “It is time to get our state back on track and fight for the families that (Gov) JB Pritzker (D-IL), Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have left behind for far too long.”
Harris also addressed perhaps the most controversial issue in the Democratic Party, the war in Gaza.
She said she and Joe Biden are working around the clock “to end this war such as Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.
She wrapped up her speech by repeating the words of her mother.
“‘Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are,”‘ her mother taught her.
“Together let’s write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”
In a text to AsAmNews, California Democratic delegate and South San Francisco Mayor James Coleman said “Kamala Harris portrayed herself as a strong, capable, and empathetic candidate, as opposed to Trump’s unserious Republican Party. It was emphasized that much of Trump’s actions – killing their own conservative immigration bill, inciting violence on Jan 6 and refusing to act on gun violence- is as unserious as it is dangerous.”
The 25-year-old Coleman is of Taiwanese descent and the first openly LGBTQ+ Mayor for South San Francisco.
New York State Assemblywoman Grace Lee described herself as “profoundly moved” by the nominee’s speech.
“Kamala Harris’ historic nomination is a powerful symbol of our progress toward realizing our ideals as a nation. This moment opens doors for the next generation, sending a clear message to my daughters and to all young girls across the country: becoming the President of the United States is not just a dream, but a real possibility.”
Attorney Gene Kim, a school trustee for the San Mateo-Foster City School District south of San Francisco and national co-chair of Korean Americans for Harris echoed Lee.
“Kamala Harris represents our values and our stories in a way that we’ve never seen before in a presidential nominee. The energy we’re seeing behind her historic campaign is something I haven’t experienced since 2008.”
Rep Andy Kim (D-NJ) said after the speech “Ready for Kamala. Let’s go win this.”
Rep Jill Tokuda (D-HI) wrote on X “On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth,” Kamala Harris- Her story is our story. We will not go back. Now let’s get to work! #DNC2024.”
Finally, Rep Shri Thanedar (D-MI) said Kamala hit it out of the park…She talked about the future in a unifying manner. She showed compassion, common sense, pragmatism and outlined her ability to be a tough leader.”
You can watch the entire speech here.
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