Kamala Harris has reached a peak not scaled by those before her.
The Oakland native smashed the glass ceiling Friday in becoming Joe Biden's vice president-elect, beginning a transition into a role exclusively held by white men during America's existence. Harris will succeed Vice President Mike Pence, be the only woman to lead the U.S. presidential line of succession and is the first female to serve as president of the U.S. Senate.
Harris has been California Senator since 2016.
But it's not just the fact she's a woman that makes this moment historic.
For women of color, in particular, this means more.
"Her story itself is the American dream that Barack Obama pushed," KCBS Radio Political Analyst Marc Sandalow said. "She is the daughter of immigrants. An Afro-Jamaican immigrant. An Indian immigrant. These are groundbreaking times."
Harris, 56, will be the country's first female vice president, the first Black woman to achieve that rank and also the first woman of Asian descent to do so. A groundbreaking female herself, House Speaker and San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi will no longer be the highest-ranking woman in U.S. political history with Harris' ascension.
"From the very beginning of her career, Kamala's charisma and political talent were always abundantly obvious," said KCBS Radio Political Reporter Doug Sovern. "She broke barriers at every step; always the first woman, the first person of color, in so many of the jobs she's held. Now she's doing it again and I wouldn't be surprised if one day she takes one more very big step."
Harris’ father is Black. Her mother is Indian.
The Howard University graduate earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She was raised in Berkeley before her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and sister to Montreal, Canada.
The former San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General has been married to Doug Emhoff since 2014.
She's stepmother to Emhoff’s two kids, Cole and Ella, from a previous marriage. They've famously referred to her "Momala," something the Biden campaign played up on the ticket's road to the White House.
Related
