‘We’re not told their stories, but as Americans we stand on their shoulders’: Harris

In a tweet, she shared pictures of her childhood with her mother and said that she not only taught to put her family first but also think about the world. Kamala Harris will be fighting for the post of vice president on a ticket from the Democratic Party in the US elections on November 3.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris thanked the women who helped her become the first Black American to fight for the post of US vice president in the upcoming November elections.

Harris preceded her acceptance tweet with another tweet thanking her mother Shyamala Harris and shared pictures of her childhood.(Kamala Harris/Twitter)

While accepting the nomination at the virtual Democratic National Convention held in Wilmington, Delaware, Kamala Harris thanked her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, for ‘instilling values that would chart the course’ of her and her sister Maya Harris’ life.

In a tweet, she shared pictures of her childhood with her mother and said that she not only taught to put her family first but also think about the world.

Harris recounted how her parents met in Oakland during the civil rights movement and said she was a witness to the sufferings of the marginalised sections of the United States. She reflected how Shyamala, a single-mother, raised her and sister Maya, and how she made it look easy despite the hardships.

Harris said, “She packed lunches before we woke up and paid bills after we went to bed. She worked round the clock to make it work.”

“She raised us to become proud strong Black women and raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage,” Harris added.

While addressing the DNC, Harris remembered the sacrifices and contributions made by the likes of Mary Church Terrell, Mary Mcleod Bethune, Fannie Lou Hamer, Constance Baker Motley and Diane Nash to the civil rights movement in the US.

She said that these women not only paved the way for her but were also responsible for paving the way for former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Harris said, “We’re not often told their stories but as Americans we always stand on their shoulders.”

Harris will fight against US vice president Mike Pence on November 3 alongside former Delaware senator and former US vice president Joe Biden.

She has been very vocal about Trump’s policies and said that the current president has caused loss of life and livelihoods under his governance.