On Thursday, before a raucous and passionate Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s presidential nomination.
“I gotta get to work,” she said as the crowd still screamed and cheered. “Well then, let’s get to the point.”
The first item on the agenda was to pay tribute and thank President Joe Biden.
“Joe, I am filled with gratitude for the journey we’ve walked together,” Harris said. “History will show that your accomplishments are extraordinary and your character is inspiring. Doug and I love you and Jill and are forever grateful to you,” she added.
“America, the path that has brought me here these past few weeks has definitely been unexpected, but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Harris said, a journey she said began with her mother, Shyamala.
“At age 19, my mother traveled the world alone, from India to California, with an unwavering dream of becoming a scientist who would cure breast cancer,” Harris said, explaining that her mother raised her in a “beautiful working-class neighborhood where firefighters, nurses and construction workers took pride in caring for their lawns.”
“She taught us to do something about injustice, not just complain,” she said of her mother, “and to never do anything half-heartedly. That’s a direct quote from my mother!”
Harris’s journey into public service and helping people began when she was in high school.
“I started to notice something about my best friend, Wanda. She was sad at school and sometimes didn’t want to go home,” she said. She explained that Wanda didn’t want to go home because she was being sexually abused by her stepfather.
“I told her right away that she had to stay with us, and she did,” Harris continued.
“That’s one of the reasons I became a prosecutor – to protect people like Wanda, because I believe every person deserves safety, dignity and justice.”
The rest is history. After earning degrees from Howard University and the University of California, School of Law, she began her legal career and rose through the ranks as a county and city prosecutor, then San Francisco’s district attorney, state attorney general, and eventually was elected to the U.S. Senate.
As a prosecutor, she said she has one guiding principle: “In our justice system, harm to one of us is harm to all of us,” she said. “No one should have to fight alone. We’re all in this together.”
Throughout my career, I have only had one client: the people. So on behalf of the people, on behalf of all Americans, regardless of party, race, gender or what language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and all those who started out on an unlikely path, on behalf of the kind of American I grew up with, on behalf of people who work hard and chase their dreams and care for one another, on behalf of all people whose stories can only be told in the greatest country on earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
This election has given our nation a rare and fleeting opportunity to move beyond the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive conflicts of the past — a chance to chart a new path forward — not as members of any particular party or faction, but as Americans.
“I know that there are people watching tonight who have a wide range of political views, and I want you to know: I am committed to being a president for all Americans,” Harris continued.Always believe in putting country before party and self.”
“I will be a president who unites us in our highest aspirations,” she said. “I will be a president who leads and listens. I will be a president who is real, practical, has common sense and will always fight for the American people. From the courtroom to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”
Harris spoke about some of the biggest fights she has faced for people during her career. “These fights were not easy, nor were the elections that brought me to these offices. We were underestimated at nearly every turn. But we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for.”
“And that’s the fight we’re fighting now – the fight for the future of America.”
His opponent, Harris, said: “He’s a frivolous man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House would be extremely serious…. Don’t just look at the chaos and disaster that occurred when he was president.”
When he retired,Donald Trump tried to squander your votes, and when that failed, he sent an armed mob into the U.S. Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers.”
“And now, in an entirely separate set of crimes, he has been convicted of fraud by a jury made up of ordinary Americans and separately convicted of sexual abuse,” Harris said. “Just think what he’d do if we gave him power again.”
“Just think of the power Trump will have now that the U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled that he is immune from criminal prosecution. Imagine Donald Trump without the guardrails.”
But “we’re not turning back,” she and the crowd have changed. “We are forging a new path,” Harris said, “moving toward a future with a strong and growing middle class, because we know that a strong middle class has always been essential to American success. And building that middle class will be a clear goal of my presidency.”
“I believe that America cannot truly thrive unless Americans are able to make full decisions for themselves about their lives, especially those matters of their hearts and their homes,” Harris continued. “Yet tonight, in America, too many women cannot make those decisions. Let’s be clear about how we got to this point.”
“We got here thanks to President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court justices he appointed,” Harris said.
“And now he’s bragging about it. Simply put, they’re crazy. And you have to ask why they don’t trust women, because we do,” she said.
“You have to ask, why don’t they trust women,” she continued. “Yes, we trust women. We trust women.”
She said Democrats also have faith in voters and will restore their rights. “With this election, we finally have an opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.”
Speaking about national security, Harris was a vocal supporter of Ukraine and the strength of the NATO alliance, saying, “We will stay away from tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump because they know he is easily manipulated through flattery and favors.”
“My fellow Americans,” Harris continued, “I love this country with all my heart. Everywhere I go, in every person I meet, I see a country that is ready to move forward — ready for the next step in this great journey that is America.”
The America I envision is one that holds fast to the fearless beliefs that built our nation and inspired the world; one where here, all is possible; where nothing is beyond our reach; one where we care for one another and look out for one another; and recognize that we have far more in common than what divides us; where no one has to fail for us all to succeed; and that we are strong in unity.
Another lesson passed on from her mother: “Never let others define who you are. Show others who you are. America, show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibility.”
“We must rise to the occasion. It is our turn to fight for the country we love,” “for the privilege and pride that comes with being an American.”
