Sen. Kamala Harris reached a historic milestone on Wednesday night when she accepted the nomination to be Joe Biden's vice-presidential running mate. As the first woman of color nominated to be on the Democratic presidential ticket, Harris sparked a surge of emotions across the nation.
“Pride and a little teary and a little overwhelmed" is how local resident Janice Brown said she felt as she watched Harris accept the nomination.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Brown said. “If you would have told me she was going to be vice-president, I wouldn’t have believed it. It really makes me feel like I have a place, like I am part of this country."
Brown says Harris' nomination is transformative.
“It tells a lot to a lot of people about what you can be and that you are not defined on how you were born, what you looked like when you were born, but by your ambition and your intellect, and your ability to succeed,” Brown said.
Ellen Nash, who said she had been following Harris' career, said her nomination was an example of living history.
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“My mom is 88 years old, and she always says, ‘I never thought I’d live this long, to see President Obama, and now I’m sitting here in my living room experiencing a black woman as vice-president of the United States,” Nash said.
Debora Bass said the moment was monumental.
“I can’t imagine being a young girl today and that’s your normal, that’s what you think is possible for you and your life,” Bass said.
The three women said that representation matters and that having someone like Harris as the VP nominee for the Democratic Party could highlight opportunities that once felt unrealistic to women, immigrants and people of color.
“I am happy for her, for this country, but also for myself because I feel like I have a place in this country, more now, than before she was selected,” Brown said.
