CHICAGO — Amid a cacophony of cheering Democrats and a canopy of red, white and blue balloons, Vice President Kamala Harris made history.
The first woman elected vice president of the United States officially became the first Black and South Asian woman named a major-party presidential nominee, lifting Democrats’ hopes of defeating former President Donald Trump and keeping the White House for another four years.
After three days of buildup about her work as a prosecutor and her promise as a leader, Harris emerged onstage to deafening roars from a packed arena, which cheered over her attempts to begin her speech before she told attendees they had to “get to some business.”
“We are charting a new way forward, forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class,” Harris said in her speech.
“Because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success, and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” she continued, calling it a “personal” thing because “the middle class is where I come from.”
“That’s why we will create what I call an opportunity economy, an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed, whether you live in a rural area, small town or big city,” Harris said.
At that, thousands of Democrats inside the arena leaped to their feet, offering a thunderous reception.
In the lead-up to Harris’ appearance, the electricity running through the party was palpable inside the United Center, where Michael Jordan famously led the Chicago Bulls to three of their six championships. All night, the arena was transformed into a rollicking party, with a sea of bodies, many of them wearing white, bouncing, dancing and singing as celebratory music blared.
Harris spent the beginning of her speech laying out her biography, from her family’s story to the early steps of her career. Speaking about her immigrant parents, she said she’s “no stranger to unlikely journeys,” describing her upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area and her start as a prosecutor.
“Every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: ‘Kamala Harris for the people.’ My entire career, I only had one client: the people,” Harris said.
Harris then wove that story into the traditional applause line accepting her party’s nomination.
“And so, on behalf of the people; on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks; on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey; on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another; on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America,” Harris said.
In the month since President Joe Biden stepped aside from the campaign, Harris has transformed the race, invigorating a stagnant, lackluster campaign weighed down by questions over his age and sharpness. Now, the campaign is awash with money, having raised nearly $500 million since Harris moved to the top of the ticket and later chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate.
In her remarks, Harris spoke in broad outlines about her own agenda, saying she would restore reproductive freedoms, offer a tax cut to the middle class, end America’s housing shortage and protect Social Security and Medicare.
“They are out of their minds,” she said of Republicans and what she called their attack on women’s reproductive rights. “We trust women,” she said.
She repeatedly hammered away at Trump, calling him a threat to working Americans, saying he would cut taxes for only the wealthy. She also cited Project 2025, a conservative blueprint by the Heritage Foundation meant to be a road map for another Trump term. Trump rejected the document after the blowback around it.
After a program that included The Chicks singing the national anthem and a performance by Pink, pop queen Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” also played ahead of the vice president’s acceptance speech, reinforcing a theme Harris has leaned on to advocate for everything from voting rights to housing affordability to reproductive rights.
“I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home. But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions, and let’s be clear about how we got here,” Harris said, pointing to Trump’s Supreme Court appointees who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Harris also spoke about strengthening border security and national security, slamming Trump’s opposition to a bipartisan border deal that was proposed in Congress this year, as well as his past comments about American allies. She reaffirmed her commitment to NATO and Ukraine in its war against Russia.
And Harris spoke at length about Israel and its military action against Hamas in Gaza, an issue that has divided Democrats over the last year.
“Let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” Harris said, speaking about the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. “At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again.”
Trump, who posted on social media throughout Harris’ speech, wrote on his platform Truth Social: “She’s done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and that’s what she’s doing tonight, she’s complaining about everything but doing nothing.”
Democrats react
The conclusion of the convention capped a tumultuous period for the Democratic Party, with weeks of infighting among its leaders before Biden announced he would step aside. Biden immediately endorsed Harris, and she quickly locked down support across his delegates, avoiding what some had feared could become a messy open convention.
But the prospect of Harris’ landing in the White House had Black leaders beaming all day.
“There is no glass ceiling in this for us. Hillary cracked it. We’re gonna break through it,” said Daniele Monroe-Moreno, the first Black woman to chair the Nevada Democratic Party.
She said Harris’ accomplishment sends a clear message in 2024.
“Every little girl — I don’t care what race, religious belief you are — there is nothing you cannot do,” Monroe-Moreno said. “And that’s what this means. Women. We’re here. We’re the new force in this Democratic Party.”
When Harris launched her first presidential campaign in 2019, she became the third Black woman to seek a major party’s nomination, following Rep. Shirley Chisholm, D-N.Y., in 1972 and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, D-Ill., in 2004.
Now, little more than half a century after Chisholm’s campaign, which challenged stereotypes and collected a handful of delegates, her party has nominated a Black woman for the most powerful post in the world.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and MSNBC host, was youth director for Chisholm’s campaign. On Thursday, he put Harris’ nomination in the context of Chisholm and a change in American attitudes on race and gender that she helped foment.
“To see this fulfilled is a long time coming,” Sharpton said. “It shows a growth in the country and in the Democratic Party, not only for Black, but for a woman — it’s a victory over misogyny, institutional misogyny and racism.”
Feelings of pride and patriotism swelled within many of the Black women at Thursday’s session of the convention.
Cathleen Trigg, founder and CEO of iWomanTV, said she had come to Chicago from New York to do everything in her power to help Harris win.
“I can’t really describe the feeling of being at this place in life where we do have our potentially first female, first Black female, first — so many firsts — that could be leading our country, the greatest country in the world,” said Trigg, 56. “It’s a miracle. It’s a blessing. It is an opportunity for change that is much needed in our country.”
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who was the highest-ranking Black lawmaker when he was the Democratic whip in the House, referred to the preamble of the Constitution in explaining the importance of Harris’ nomination.
“It means that we have taken another step toward a more perfect union,” Clyburn said. “It means that a significant, and I hope a majority, segment of this country wishes to continue moving forward, not interested in going backwards, not interested in reliving the past, but charting out a new way forward for our children and grandchildren.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said: “From President Biden, you had this [message of] ‘Oh, my gosh. Democracy is at stake! We can’t let this happen! Kamala Harris brought the joy back into this.”
Speaking from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, before the convention began, Warner said that “every politician is passing through and people are almost giddy!”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in an interview: “Americans like an upbeat, optimistic, joy-filled personality, which is what she’s conveyed.”
Ann-Marie Herod, a Black woman who lives in Chicago and is originally from Mississippi, said it was difficult to put the significance of the night into words.
“When Obama ran, I was a young girl. Now, I’m actually able to go out and be active within this process: canvassing, doing these different things,” said Herod, who was watching Harris’ acceptance from Soldier Field. “I have parents, I have friends, who never could have imagined a Black woman could be in the White House. It is amazing.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-22 12:59:00
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