Kamala Harris honours her mother while accepting Democratic Party nomination, promises to be president for...

Promising that she will be a president who unites the people of the country, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said that the upcoming presidential election is a chance to chart a new way forward, not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.

Harris, 59, is the first-ever Indian-American and Black woman to be nominated as the presidential candidate of the either Democratic or Republican parties.

"With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," Harris said in the excerpts of her nomination acceptance speech Thursday night.

“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans...,’ she said.

 "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads -- and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work,” Harris said.

Kamala Harris also remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States.

“My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day–especially now. And I know she’s looking down tonight, and smiling,” she said.

Harris said her mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer.

”… It was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats — a beautiful working-class neighbourhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all of whom tended their lawns with pride,” said Harris.

Shyamala Gopalan migrated to the US at the age of 19 to pursue higher studies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

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