Kamala Harris makes history as the first female, Black and south Asian Vice President

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris has made history by becoming the first female, Black and south Asian Vice President of the United States.

Harris was sworn in as Vice President by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the supreme court. She was sworn in just before Joe Biden took the oath of office to become the 46th President of the United States.

Harris chose to be sworn in using two Bibles, one from the first black supreme court justice, the late Thurgood Marshall, and one from close family friend, Regina Shelton, who was like a surrogate mother for Harris when she was growing up.

Harris, 56, was born in Oakland, California to two immigrant parents – an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father.

Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, before being recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and later the City Attorney of San Francisco’s office. In 2003, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco.

She was elected Attorney General of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Harris served as the junior United States senator from California from 2017 to 2021. Harris defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate.

As a senator, she advocated for healthcare reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings.

Also making history at the inauguration was Amanda Gorman, 22, who became the youngest poet to ever perform at a presidential inauguration.

Gorman, the first-ever US National Youth Poet Laureate recited her poem The Hill We Climb. The poem stole the show with references to Biblical scripture and Hamilton and featured the fitting line, “While democracy can be permanently delayed, it can never be permanently denied.”

The inauguration also saw Lady Gaga performing the National Anthem, as well as Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, and Demi Lovato also performing at the event.


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