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All you need to know about VP Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris made history Saturday as the first Black woman elected as vice president of the United States, shattering barriers that have kept men — almost all of them white — entrenched at the highest levels of American politics for more than two centuries.

Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris

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Published : Nov 7, 2020, 5:06 PM IST

Updated : Nov 7, 2020, 11:38 PM IST

Hyderabad:Kamala Harris, 56-year-old California senator, also the first person of South Asian descent made history on Saturday as she became the first Black woman who has been elected as vice president of the United States.

It will be for the first time in American history that an Indian-origin person will be taking up the position of a vice president.

All you need to know about VP nominee Kamala Harris

Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. She is also a former prosecutor whose pointed questioning of Trump's appointees and court nominees and cool charm on the campaign trail made her a Democratic star.

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She will make history as the first Black woman to become the vice president of the US. Democrats hope the historic nature of her candidacy will help energize key groups of likely Democratic voters — African Americans and young people, in particular — who have shown less excitement for Biden.

Harris' introduction as VP to the American public and her subsequent pitches have been deeply personal. In an early tweet, Harris said she is voting "for people like my mother, Shyamala, who taught my sister and me that if you see a problem, you don't complain about it: you do something about it. "It's because of her that I know change is possible when we put in the work."

Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan was only 19 when she arrived in Berkeley, which was crackling at the time with civil rights activity. It was here that she met Donald Harris, a graduate economics student from Jamaica. They married and had two girl children, Kamala and Maya. Harris never fails to headline the 'Mother India' theme in her high stakes public appearances.

Read:|We are going to win, says Biden as he nears victory

Of the four in the fray - Trump-Pence and Biden-Harris, Harris is the youngest. She is 55.

Given the ages of both Trump and Biden, voters' chatter is already rife that Pence or Harris might be required to step into the presidency before 2024.

With inputs from agencies

Last Updated : Nov 7, 2020, 11:38 PM IST

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