Harris credits mom for showing faith

New York, Jan. 21: Kamala Harris, who scripted history by becoming the first-ever woman Vice President of the US, has credited her Indian mother for showing faith in her and always reminding her two daughters that “though we may be the first, we should not be the last.”

Harris remembered her late mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist from India, saying she has always carried that lesson from her mother with her throughout her career from serving as the first woman District Attorney of San Francisco, to the first woman Attorney General of California, and the first woman of colour to represent California in the United States Senate.

Harris, 56, created history on Wednesday by becoming the first-ever woman Vice President of the United States.

She is also the first female, first PoC and first South Asian American vice president.

“My story is the story of millions of Americans. My mother Shyamala Gopalan arrived in the United States from India. She raised my sister Maya and me to know that though we may be the first, we should not be the last, Harris said at the Presidential Inaugural Committee's official Asian American inaugural ball, hosted virtually by IMPACT, the leading Indian American advocacy and political action committee on Wednesday.

“Your continued faith in me has brought me to this moment, she said.

She thanked IMPACT and RUN AAPI, an Asian American voter outreach organisation, for their leadership, asserting that the contributions of the Asian Pacific American community are woven throughout the fabric of the US.