She had chosen a satin white suit, the white of the suffragettes who won the federal vote in the United States 101 years ago.
Speaking before Joe Biden, named winner of the US presidential election after four days of suspense, Kamala Harris, the first woman to become the Vice President of the United States, paid tribute on Saturday evening to the generations of women who have “Paved the way” for his election, ensuring that it would not be “the last”.
An idea that his mother often reminded him of: "If you have to be the first to accomplish things, make sure you are not the last".
Midway through her 10-minute speech, the Democratic Senator from California paid tribute to this woman, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who arrived in the United States from India at the age of 19, became a renowned oncologist, activist for civil rights, and died in 2009.
“She couldn't have imagined this moment, but she believed deeply in an America capable of bringing about a moment like this,” she said to a crowd of supporters gathered in Wilmington, Delaware, on foot and by car, to respect the imperatives of social distancing.
“So I think of her, of the generations of women, black, Asian, white, Latin, Native American, who paved the way,” she added.
VIDEO. Kamala Harris: "I am the first vice-president, but not the last"
She praised those "who have sacrificed so much for equality, freedom and justice for all, including black women, who are too often looked down upon, but who so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy ”.
In the crowd, black women pointed to the cameras.
"It's me she's talking about," they seemed to cry out with emotion.
This fight, started “a hundred years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the suffrage law and now, in 2020, with a new generation of women in our country who have cast their ballots in the 'ballot box and continued the fight for the fundamental right to vote and to be heard ”, was crowned thanks to the“ daring ”of Joe Biden.
According to her, the Democratic candidate has "broken one of the most important barriers" of American society by choosing her as running mate.
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"I will not be the last," she promised, "because every little girl who looks tonight sees that this is a land of all possibilities."
And to conclude: “To all the children, whatever your gender, this country has sent you a message: dream with ambition, move forward with conviction, […] we will applaud you every step of the way.
"