THE first-ever woman vice-president of the US Kamala Harris has credited her mother Shyamala Gopalan for showing faith in her and always reminding her two daughters that 'though we may be the first, we should not be the last'.
The late Gopalan was a cancer researcher and civil rights activist from India.
Harris, 56, created history by becoming the first-ever woman, first black and first South Asian vice president of the US.
She was also the first woman district attorney of San Francisco, first woman attorney General of California, first woman of colour to represent California in the US Senate.
Harris is one of the three Asian-Americans in the Senate and the first Indian-American ever to serve in the upper chamber.
"My story is the story of millions of Americans. My mother Shyamala Gopalan arrived in the US 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.
"Your continued faith in me has brought me to this moment.”
Harris said when she accepted the nomination to be the vice president, she did so fully committed to realising the vision of a stronger, more united America that provides an opportunity for all, a vision shared by president Joe Biden and one they will 'strive to fulfill'.
"We are committed to working with you in the days and months ahead to rebuild our nation in a way that lifts up all Americans,” she said.
Just before Harris was sworn in as US vice president, she posted a moving video on Twitter as a tribute to the women 'who came before her' and her mother who moved to the US from India to pursue the big American dream.
"I'm here today because of the women who came before me. And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today - my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts," Harris said.
"When she came here from India at the age of 19, maybe she didn't quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible. So, I'm thinking about her and 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."
