History was made on Wednesday, January 20, when Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman and the first colored American to serve as the 49th Vice President of the US. All the 48 American Vice Presidents who preceded her were all male. It took exactly one century for a female to get elected as Vice President of the US after the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution granting women the right of suffrage was approved on August 18, 1920. Harris’ swearing-in was made more momentous when she took her oath of office before Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina American to occupy a seat in the US Supreme Court. Watching two children of immigrant parents occupy two very powerful positions in the US government proves once more that the US is truly the land of promise and opportunity. The distinct honor denied to Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin, the only other women who ran for Vice President of the US under a major political party, was given to Harris by the American people.
Harris is not a stranger to breaking barriers. She was the first Indian American to be elected a US Senator and only the second African American woman after Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois to serve in the US Senate. She was also the first female and the first African American to hold the post of Attorney General of the State of California, which has the biggest number of state lawyers second only to the Federal Justice Department of the US. Prior to this, she was elected as the District Attorney of Oakland where she earned a solid reputation for being tough on crimes. Harris knows full well the obstacles confronting women in the rough-and-tumble game of politics. She admitted that “breaking barriers can be scary. When you break through a glass ceiling, you’re going to get cut, and it’s going to hurt. It is not without pain.”
Harris is fortunate that she got the support she needed from her family, her friends, her husband and her party mates who have provided her “the force propulsion” that will get her to the next higher place. She had many mentors. She stood on many shoulders and she has gotten to her position because of the help of many. She acknowledges this fact wholeheartedly and with humility. On her maiden speech delivered in the halls of the US Senate after her election to that august assembly, she opened her speech by stating: “Above all, I rise today with a sense of gratitude for all those upon whose shoulders we stand. For me, it starts with my mother, Shyamala Harris.”
Harris has not said or written much about her plans when she assumes the Vice Presidency. Maybe she does not want to steal the thunder from President Joe Biden. But speaking in more general terms, she has said earlier: “My daily challenge to myself is to be part of the solution, to be a joyful warrior in the battle to come. My challenge to you is to join the effort. To stand up for our ideals and values. Let’s not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves.”
After a bitter election contest and Trump’s repeated allegations of massive fraud, which had stoked his partisans’ passion and wrath to storm the Capitol, what America needs is healing and unity. Even before the election, as if reading ahead the carnage that would unfold on January 6, Harris has written: “For all our differences, for all the battles, for all the fights, we are still one American family, and we should act like it. We have so much more in common than what separates us.” It’s now the time to turn the temperature down after months of tumult and division if America is to move forward. Every American should heed the call for unity.
As the Vice President, Harris presides over the US Senate. With the current composition of an even 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats, Vice President Harris breaks the tie in the Senate. This gives the Democrats control of both Houses of the US Congress, which makes Biden’s life easier at the White House. Harris’ decisive role in both the Executive and the Legislative Departments of the US government definitely makes her a critical cog in the Biden administration. She is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and for one with a big and brave heart as Harris, being a reserved tire will not deter her from becoming a governing partner of Biden. If she performs her job well, Harris is a cinch to get the presidential nomination after Biden ends his term. Biden is the oldest elected first termer president of the US and he would be 82 by the end of his first term. If Biden decides not to seek reelection, Harris’ wait will be abbreviated. She will have a crack at the US Presidency and a bigger history will be in the making.