Washington:Indian-origin Senator and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said her mother instilled in her that the core values of America are not just to strive for success and but also to leave the country better than they found it.
And this is what she strives to be, Harris said during the launch of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) for Biden, a group supporting the Democratic nominee for the November presidential election.
Harris is of both African and Indian descent, with her father being from Jamaica and mother Shyamala Gopalan from Tamil Nadu. In public addresses, Harris has regularly reflected on the deep influence that her mother had on her.
"When my mother arrived in the United States from India, she understood that the core of her new home in America is that we not only strive for success but to leave our country better than we found it, she told the AAPI event.
Read |Kamala Harris says her mom's advice drives her every single day
"That's the approach she instilled in me, and I know many of you are working toward that same end, she said.
In a short video released later in the day on the occasion of Women's Equality Day, Harris said that her mother was the greatest source of inspiration in my life.
"She taught me from a young age that I had a responsibility to fight for justice. At the age of 19, she arrived in the United States from India alone and with the dream of curing cancer. She was a woman who believed in solving problems, Harris said.