And with a final “so help me God,“Kamala Harriswas sworn in Wednesday as the new vice president — the first woman, first Black person and first person of Asian descent to hold the office.
Harris, 56, took her oath of office from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a history-maker as well as the highest court’s first Latina.
“I was absolutely, and remain, so excited about our partnership,” she told PEOPLE last year of working with incoming PresidentJoe Biden, “and all the potential of our country that has yet to be achieved.”
Biden was sworn in shortly after her.
From left: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Vice President Kamala Harris at Inauguration Day.Alex Wong/Getty
In an interview withGood Morning Americalast month, Harris said she will certainlybe “thinking about my mother” on Inauguration Day.
Her mom,Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, died of cancer in 2009. “I’ll be thinking about all those girls and boys,” Harris said then. “You know, before the pandemic struck, fathers and the mothers that would bring them around and say, ‘You know, you can do anything.’ "
Former U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris during the 59th presidential inauguration.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty
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Harris echoed that same quote in her victory speech last fall. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities and to the children of our country regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way,” she said.
Kamala Harris (left) is sworn in as vice president on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.Alex Wong/Getty
Harris, the daughter of immigrant parents, was born in Oakland, California, in 1964. Her mother was a cancer researcher who came to the U.S. from India, and her economist father, Donald Harris, was born in Jamaica.
Growing up in California,Harris was exposedto activism at an early age (her parents were active in the civil rights movement) as well as the challenges of navigating racism.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters,” Harriswrote in her 2019 memoirThe Truths We Hold. “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women.”
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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE in August in herfirst joint interview with Bidenahead of the presidential election, Harris said her connection with the now-president is their shared focus on family.
“That’s one of the things we have in common,” she said at the time. “My children don’t call me stepmom, they call me Momala. We’re a very modern family. Their mom is a close friend of mine. … Joe and I have a similar feeling that really is how we approach leadership: family in every version that it comes.”
Harris also recalled the fateful moment she got the call from Biden, asking if she’d join him on the ticket.
VIce President Kamala Harris.JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“I was in the room on the Zoom and Doug was in the other room, just waiting. The intercom system in my family growing up is the same one we use now, which is to shout loudly from one room to the other,” she said with a laugh. “The vice president had his cell phone because Jill was at an event. Then they asked for Doug, and I shouted, ‘Dougie, come!’ "
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris (L) greets stepchildren Cole Emhoff and Ella Emhoff.OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty
“The next day Doug and I came [to Delaware] to visit with the vice president and Jill at their home,” Harris continued, “and we just hung out with homemade chocolate chip cookies. I saw some family pictures. Joe called my in-laws and we surprised them. Then Joe said, ‘Tell me how the kids are doing?’ This is the thing — among the many things I love about Joe Biden — he said, ‘Let’s call them.’ So he called, separately, [Harris' stepchildren] Ella and Cole to welcome them into the family.”
source: people.com
