California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and described how her family has shaped her into the Democratic Party’s 2020 vice presidential nominee during her Wednesday Democratic National Convention acceptance speech.
“That I am here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me, women and men who believed so fiercely in the promise of equality, liberty and justice for all,” she opened. “This week marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, and we celebrate the women who fought for that right. Yet so many of the black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting long after its ratification.” (RELATED: Obama Says ‘Donald Trump Hasn’t Grown Into The Job Because He Can’t’)
“They were undeterred,” Harris continued. “Without fanfare or recognition they organized and testified and rallied and marched and fought not just for their vote but for a seat at the table.”
The former California attorney general gave a special to another “woman whose name isn’t known, whose story isn’t shared, another woman whose shoulders” she stood on, her mother, Shamala. Harris added that her parents “fell in love in that most American way while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In the streets of Oakland and Berkeley I got a strollers eye view of people getting into what the great John Lewis called ‘Good trouble.'”
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Harris’ mother, she stated, “taught us to put family first, the family you’re born into and the family you choose.”
“Family is my husband Doug who I met on a blind date setup by my best friend. Family is our beautiful children Cole and Ella who call me ‘Momala.’ Family is my sister, family is my best friend, my nieces and my God children. Family is my uncles, my aunts and my chithis. Family is Mrs. Shelton, my second mother who lived two doors down and helped raise me. Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha, our divine nine, and my HBCU brothers and sisters.”
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You can watch her entire acceptance speech here.
Harris’ remarks followed emphatic arguments against President Donald Trump from former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others.
Obama delivered a particularly biting critique of his successor, saying that he hoped Trump would develop “some interest” in taking the presidency seriously but has thus far failed to do so.
“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t,” the 44th president stated. “This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win, so we’ve got to get busy.”
Trump apparently watched both Obama and Harris’ speeches and responded on Twitter.
“He spied on my campaign, and got caught,” he wrote during Obama’s speech. “Why did he refuse to endorse Slow Joe until it was all over, and even then was very late? Why did he try to get him not to run?”
HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2020
WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2020
Following Harris’ remarks, Trump asked, “didn’t she call him a racist??? Didn’t she say he was incompetent???”
BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2020