Kamala Harris, the first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president-elect in American history, strutted out on stage in Wilmington, Delaware, to the beat of Mary J. Blige’s “Work That” on Saturday night, Nov. 7, 2020, after she and Joe Biden won the presidential election.
Dressed in an all-white pantsuit to pay homage to the Women’s Suffrage Movement that led to the passage of the 19th Amendment, Harris paid respect to the women of color and White women whose shoulders she stands on.
“So, I’m thinking about the generations of women — Black Women. Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight. 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,” Harris told the crowd.
“Tonight, I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision — to see what can be unburdened by what has been — I stand on their shoulders. And what a testament it is to Joe’s character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his vice president.”
Biden, who broke Barack Obama’s record for the number of votes he earned with more than 74 million and counting, said he plans to restore humanity and inclusiveness to the White House.
“I am proud of the campaign we built and ran. I am proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse in history. Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Progressives, moderates and conservatives. Young and old. Urban, suburban and rural. Gay, straight, transgender. White. Latino. Asian. Native American,” Biden said.
“And especially for those moments when this campaign was at its lowest — the African-American community stood up again for me. They always have my back, and I’ll have yours. I said from the outset I wanted a campaign that represented America, and I think we did that. Now that’s what I want the administration to look like.”
Flip the page to view Biden’s speech in its entirety.
