Worthy of you. Thats joe. Odonnell history is about to be made in wilmington, delaware, as the first woman of color accepts her partys nomination for Vice President of the United States. Good evening, im Norah Odonnell in our nations capitol. Welcome to cbs News Coverage of the starstudded night. Three of the Democratic National convention, in this hour senator Kamala Harris will tell americans why she thinks they should elect. An open mind and the chance to lead an open mind and the chance to lead, i meant st. Every president deserves that. And trump came in with so much set up for him. A strong economy, planned for managing crises including a pandemic. Yes, we democrats would have disagreed with him on many things, but if he had put his own interests and ego aside, seen the humanity in a child ripped from her parents at the border or a protester calling for justice or a family wiped out by natural disaster, that would have been a good thing for america and the world. I wish donald trump knew how to be a president. Because America Needs a president right now. Throughout this time of crisis americans keep going, checking on neighbors, showing up to jobs of first responders, hospitals, grocery stores, nursing homes. Yes, its still takes a village and we need leaders equal to this moment of sacrifice and service. We need joe biden and Kamala Harris. Everyone has a story about joes caring and empathy. I remembered him calling after my mother dorothy died and we talked about being raised by strong women. The best testament to joe is how he has scared cared for his family and how great is it that dr. Jill biden plans to keep teaching as first lady. And joe picked the right partner in kamal blanca she is relentness in the pursuit of justice and equity and shes kind. When her press secretary tyrone gayle was dying of condition certificate, she dropped everything to be with him in his final moments. I know something about the slings and arrows she will face and believe me this former District Attorney and attorney general can handle them all. So this is the team. To pull our nation back from the brink but they cant do it without us. For four years people have told me i didnt realize how dngerous he was. I wish i could do it all over. Or worse. I should have voted. Look, this cant be another woulda coulda shoulda election. If you vote by mail, request your ballot now and send it back right away. If you vote in person, do it early. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. As Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders warned us, if trump is reelected things will get even worse. Thats why we need unity now more than ever. And that will be a memorable phrase, this cant be another woulda coulda shoulda. Lets go to the chase center where Kamala Harris will take the podium, nikole kill onand ed okeefe are both there, let me start with you, what are you hearing about what Kamala Harris and the message she will have tonight . Well, norah to underscore the significance of this moment, a democratic official tells cbs news that former president barack obama was initially supposed to close out the evening but he asked to swap and go before senator harris to symbolically pass the torch to her. So when senator harris introduces herself to the American People tonight, expect a very deeply personal story. She will talk about how her mother instilled values in her. She really wants people to see themselves in her speech, so she will lay out how the country can come together under joe bidens leadership but make no mistake she will be very pointed when it comes to President Trump saying Donald Trumps failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods before her speemp there will be an introductory video about the significance of her candidacy. She will be officially nominated tonight by three generations of women in her family, her sister, her niece and her stepdaughter. Norah . Odonnell her step children call her mamala, that is her nickname, thank you so much, nikole. And i want to bring in ed okeefe now because as was mentioned the other big speech tonight from former president obama who wants to pass the torch, he will deliver his speech from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia. That is meant to send a message as well, right ed . Thats right, norah. It is about 40 minutes from here. The Convention Organizers say ohe venue was chosen to underscore their belief that american democracy is at risk. In his remarks the former president will mick an observation very similar to the one his wife made on monday night, that based on their proximity too and understanding all of the presidency, donald trump is no longer qualified to serve as president. The former president will say that the current president has quote no interest in treating the presidency and anything but one more reality show that he could use to get the attention he craves. Our recent cbs news Battleground Tracker poll found that mr. Obama was the former president that democrats wanted to hear from the most this week and most democrats still rate his presidency as excellent. Over the course of his campaign in the last 18 month joe biden has traveled the country talking about the fact that he is a broad broad obama biden democrat and he was eager to restore that kind of governing and that kind of Democratic Party to the nation. Last summer when bidens victory we asked why would you vote for biden they said it was because of his work with the former president. Tonight mr. Obama will ask the nation to make his former number two number one, norah . Odonnell all right, ed okeefe in wilmington, want to brng in our panel starting with john dickerson, lets start with Kamala Harris. Former prosecutor, does she make the case against donald trump before joe biden tonight . The answer is yes. But the question is in what measure. Traditionally the Vice President is the attack dog. But the attack dogs are traveling in packs at this convention. Everyone is attacking donald trump. And so while she will make a de fined case against donald trump, Kamala Harris comes to this speech with a lot more star power than Vice President s normally have. Two things to watch for. One for somebody who is very critical of joe biden during the primaries, how will she speak to his character but her personal story is the most interesting thing. Immigrant parents. The story tonight is how immigration is an american value, a crucial american value. Barack obama says it is about the meaning of america. The challenge for her did to knit her personal story with the larger Biden Campaign which is we are in touch with those fundamental values of america. And thats what she, that is the level she can raise to in her speech tonight. Jamal, i was thinking that tonight could have been called ladies night if it werent for barack obama because we have heard from so many powerful women, also Elizabeth Warren speaking tonight as well. Hillary clinton, to hear her address, mentioning that again she won the popular vote by 3 million. Was in terms of the polls, she had a narrow lead at this same time and yet is not president. Sure, that was a tough night for democrats. Last time when she did not win. It was interesting, i wanted to make sure that the room she spoke from tonight is the same room where she gave her initial video in 2008 that announced she was running for president. A ascertain sim dree sim tree to that Hillary Clinton started that and became the first woman no nominee, took her eight year to get there and now handing off to Kamala Harris as the first woman to be Vice President , perhaps. I remember the night in 2016 where she wasnt able to get across the finish line against done will all trump. I remember watching little girls cry in the room that i was in that night. And i think this was one of these nights that you could see, this election is one of those elections that you could see people really the fulfill am of what they wanted when Hillary Clinton ran for president. Odonnell symbolic in so many ways and histor you can. Kamala harris making history, one in ten people eligible to vote this year are immigrants. John was talking about knitting her own personal story of being an immigrant. That could affect turnout, that could affect the outcome. It could. Defi definitely, there is about 23 Million Immigrants that are eligible to vote. And we are talking not only latino immigrants, it is immigrant from all over the country so her family embodies the american dream. Usually naturalized citizens both in larger numbers, because they feel their home country, they didnt have a right to vote or came from a corruption country with corruption or voter fraughted, they feel it is a privilege. Now they see President Trump undermining the vote some might fear it is voter suppression. Odonell joe biden one of the agenda items he promised if elected president of the United States is he would enact comprehensive Immigration Reform in the first 100 days. That is a big promise to make certainly if he has still a republican senate, i want to bring in Anthony Salvanto our director of elections and survey. Go into the numbers that you have been looking at, what impact does adding Kamala Harris to the ticket have . Maybe helping to close that Enthusiasm Gap we talked about. Democrat can democrats get enthusiastic enough, first we use the word enthusiasm in the answer to their poll question. 58 of democrats told us they were enthusiastic about harris being pucked, at least all satisfied, but there is another key criteria, you may remember back in the primaries democrats told us they voted for joe biden because they thought he could win in november. So that political calculus is always going on. Well today 61 of democrats tell us they have think having harris on the ticket makes their chances of oning in november even easier. So it fulfills that central criteria. And i would just quickly add a couple of things. Key democratic constituencies will watch all year. First of all the womens vote. Joe biden has a big lead among women right now. That is actually better than democrats did in 2016. They need to keep building on that. And then secretarily of course, africanamerican voters where he is at this moment doing better than Hillary Clinton was with 90 support, that is about where he needs to be. So it speaks to what the dem contractic party is in terms of constituencies and fulfills what has been a key criteria. Odonnell Anthony Salvanto with all t with all the interesting numbers, thank you, and still to come speeches from senator Elizabeth Warren, former president barack obama and the democratic nominee for Vice President Kamala Harris. Youre watching cbs news live coverage of the democratic convention. Was that your greatgrandmother . Who stood up. Who stood strong. Who demanded to be seen. To be heard. To be counted. Learning about her courage and grit. Can inspire you to pass it on. To the women who are next. Find your familys connection to this moment in history. At ancestry. All otc pain relievers including volthave one thing in common none are proven stronger or more effective against pain than salonpas patch large theres surprising power in this patch salonpas dependable, powerful relief. Hisamitsu. Welcome back welcome back to cbs news live coverage of the Democratic National convention. We are about to hear from senator Elizabeth Warren who is speaking tonight from springfield, massachusetts, and john dickerson. She was the last woman standing in the 2020 primary before she dropped out. Many people thought shes with one of the leading candidates to be vp. Will she still be infeungs . I think she will be which is amazing because she and joe biden had a bit of a history they fought over the course of her career. But she will be speaking in her role tonight. Odonnell lets introduce now as they introduce senator Elizabeth Warren. Tonight we heard from the people who make america work. People who put their lives on the line to keep our country going and since covid19 hit, theyre taken one gut punch after another. And what is the covid fallout done to our babies . Well im here at the Early Childhood Education Center in springfield, massachusetts, which has been closed for months. Child care was already hard to find before the pandemic. And now parents are stuck. No idea when schools can safely reopen and even fewer child care options. The devastation is enormous. And the way i see it, big problems demand big solutions. Now i love a good plan and joe biden has some really good plans. Plans to bring back union jobs and manufacturing and create new union jobs in clean energy. Plans to increase Social Security benefits, cancel billions in Student Loan Debt and make our bankruptcy laws work for families instead of the creditors who cheat them. These plans reflect a central tree, our Economic System las been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires an kick dirt am the face of everyone else am but we can build a thriving economy by neving in by investing in families and fixing what is broken. Joes plan to blad back better in making the wealthy pay their fair share. Holding corporations accountable, repairing racial inequities and fighting corruption in washington. Let me tell you about one of joes plans that is especially close to my heart. Child care. As a little girl growing up in oklahoma what i wanted most in the world was to be a teacher. I loved teaching. And when i had babies and was juggling my first big teaching scob down in texas, it was hard. But i could do hard. The thing that almost sank me, child care. One night my aunt be called just to check in and i thought i was fine. But then i just broke down and started to cry. I had tried holding it all together but without reliable child care, working was nearly impossible. An when i told aunt be i was going to quit my job, i thought my heart would break. And then she said the words that changed pie life. I can cant get there tomorrow but ill come on thursday. And she arrived with seven suitcases and a pekinese named buddy and stayed for 16 years. I get to be here tonight because of my aunt be. I learned a fundamental truth, nobody makes it on their own. And yet here we are. Two generations of working parents later and if you have a baby and dont have an aunt be, you are on your own. And here is why that is wrong. We we build infrastructure like roads and bridges and Communication Systems so that people can work. That infrastructure helps us all because it keeps our economy going. It is time to recognize that child care is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation. Its infrastructure for families. Joe and kamala will make high quality child care affordable for every family, make preschool universal and raise the wages of every child care worker. Now that is just one plan but it gives you an idea of how we get this country working for everyone. Donald trumps ignorance and incompetent have always been a danger to our country. Covid19 was trumps biggest test. He failed miserably. Tody america has the most covid deaths in the world and an economic collapse. And both crises are falling hardest on black and brown families. Millions out of work, millions more trapped in cycles of poverty, millions on the brink of losing their homes, millions of restaurants and stores hanging by a thread. This crisis is bad. And it didnt have to be this way. This crisis is on donald trump and the republicans who enable him. On november 3rd we will hold them all accountable. So whether you are planning to vote vote wearing a mask or vote by mail, please take out your phone right now and text vote to 30330. We all need to be in the fight to get joe and kamala elected. And after november, we all need to stay in the fight to get big things done. We stay in this fight so that when our children and our grandchildren ask what we did during this dark chapter in our nations history, we will be able to look them squarely in the eye and say we organized, we persisted, and we changed america. Odonnell and there senator Elizabeth Warren using that phrase per sis tense as she is known as she persisted. Coming up next, former president barack obama speaks from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia. The first fdaapproved medication of its kind, tremfya® can help adults with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. Most patients who saw 90 clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. In another study, the majority of tremfya® patients saw 90 clearer skin at 3 years. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. Feepowerful 24hour,f claritin nondrowsy, allergy relief, plus an immediate cooling sensation for your throat. Feel the clarity, and live claritin clear. Our mission to fight for fuse eck our mission to fight for fuse eck waw to the ideals for our founders, our hopes for our children and sacrifices of our veterans, our brave men and women in uniform and their families. Well increase our majority in the house, we will win a democratic majority in the senate, we will elect Kamala Harris Vice President , and we will elect joe biden president of the United States of america. God bless you and god bless america. Odonnell and that was House Speaker nancy pelosi speaking a short time ago from san francisco, welcome bam to cbs coverage of night three of the Democratic National convention. Former president barack obama is about to speak from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia. That spot was picked to hit at the core message of his speech that american democracy is at stake. And brunging in our panel here, this is expected to be an indictment of President Trumps leadership but also endorsement of the man he knows quite well. Right, testimony as somebody he watched face tough calls and who he tasked to be, to push back against him, barack oba tasked joe biden to push back and to be an advocate for certain items ideas that might have been unpopular in the room and he will testify to that experience. Odonnell and Maria Elena Salinas how important is hearing from president obama on a night like tonight. I think it is important because he is still the second best speaker in the obama family and i think people still admire him, they adore him. And im sure everyone is waiting for him to speak. Odonnell as we see now, former president of the United States, barack obama. Good evening, everybody. As you have seen by now this isnt a normal convention. It is not a normal time. So tonight i want to talk as plainly as i can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come. Im in philadelphia where our constitution was drafted and seuned. It wasnt a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women and even men who didnt own property the right to participate in the political process. But embedded in this document was a north star that would guide future generations. A system of representative government, a democracy to which we could better realize our highest ideals. Through civil war and bitter struggles we improved this constitution to include the voices of those who once had been left out. And gradually we made this country more just and more equal and more free. The one Constitutional Office elected by all of the people is the president. So at a minimum we should expect a president to feel a spends of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we had or who we voted for. We should also expect the president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition or political belief, the president will preserve, protect and defend the freedoms and ideals that so Many Americans marched for, went to jail for, fought for and died for. I have sat in the oval office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policy. I did hope for the sake of our country that donald trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously. That he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence to the democracy that had been placed in his care. But he never did. For close to four years now he has shown no interest in putting in the work. No interest in finding common ground. No interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. No interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. Donald trump hasnt grown into the job because he cant. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. The worst impulses unlarybed, a proud reputation around the world badly diminished. And our Democratic Institutions threatened like never before. Now i know that in times of polarizing most of have already made up your mind but maybe are you still not sure which candidate you will vote for or whether you will vote at all. Mayb maybe you are tired of the direction were headed but you cant see a better path yet, or you just dont know enough about the person who wants to lead us there. Let me tell you about my friend joe biden. 12 years ago when i began my search for a Vice President , i didnt know i would end up finding a brother. Joe and i come from different places, different generations, but when i quickly came to admire about joe biden is his resilience, born of too much struggle. His empathy, born of too much grieve. Joe joe is a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him. No one is better than you, joe. But you are better than nobody. That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts, that is who joe is. When he talks with someone who has lost his job, joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he had lost his. When joe listens to a parent who is trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as a single dad without took the train back to wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed. When he meets with military families who have lost their heroux hero, he does it as a kindred spirit, the parent of an american soldier. Somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss their is. For eight years joe was the last one in the room whenever i faced the big decisions. He made me a better president. And hes got the character and the experience to make us a better country. And in my friend Kamala Harris he has chosen an ideal partner who is more than prepared for the job. Someone who knows what it is like to overcome barriers and who has made a career fighting to help others live out their own american dreams. Along with the experience needed to get things done joe and kamala had concrete policies that will turn their vision on a better, fairer, stronger country into reality. They will get this pandemic under control like joe did when he helped me manage h1n1 and prevent an Ebola Outbreak from reaching our shores. He will expand health care to more americans like joe and i did ten years ago. When he helped craft the Affordable Care act and nail down the votes to make it the law. Joe rescue go he will rescue the economy like he helped me do after the breat recession. He sees this moments now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody. Whether it is a waitress trying to raise a kid on her own or the ship worker always on the edge of getting laid off or the student figuring out how to pay for next semesters classes. Joe and kamala will restore our etanding in the world and as we learned from this pandemic, that mat ares. Joe knows the world and the world knows him. He knows that our true strength comes from setting an example that the world wants to follow. A nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like Climate Change and terrorism, poverty and disease. But more than anything what i know about joe, what i know about kamala is that they actually care about every american. And that they care deeply about this democracy. They believe that in a democracy the right to vote is sacred and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballots, not ballots, not harder. They believe that no one including the president can above the law. And that no public official including the president should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters. They understand that in this democracy the commander in chief does not use the men and women of our military who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation as political props to deploy against peaceful protestors on our own soil. They understand that political opponents arent unamerican just because they disagree with you. I free press isnt the enemy but the way we hold officials accountable. That our ability to Work Together to solve big problems like a pandemic depend on a a fidelity to facts and science and lodgek and not just making stuff up. None of this should be controversial. These shouldnt be republican principles or democratic principles, they are american principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him have shown they dont believe in these. Tonight im asking you to believe in joe and kamalas ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. But here is the thing. No single american can fix this co country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional, you give me your vote, i make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So im also asking you to believe in your own ability to embrace your own spobilityd as citizens. To make sure that the basic ten enters of ten ents of our democracy endure, because that is what is at stake right now, our democracy. Look, i understand why a lot of americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in congress, mawk it easier for special interests to stop progress than to make progress. Believe me, i know it. I understand why a white factory worker who has seen his wages cut or job shift overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him. And why a black mom might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there is still a place for him here. Why a young person might look at politics right now. S circus of it all, the meanness and the lies, and conspiracy theories and think what is the point. Well heres the point. This president and those in power, those who benefit from keeping things the way they are, they are counting on imrur cynicism. They know they cant win you over with their policies but they are hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote does not matter. That is how they win. That is how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life. And the lives of the people you love. That is how the economy will keep getting skewed to the healthy and well connected. How our Health Systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That is how a democracy withers until it is no democracy at all. And we cannot let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you are going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this. All those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice. Last month we lost a giant of american democracy in john lewis. And some years ago i sat down with john, and a few remaining leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement. One of them told me he never imagined he would walk into the white house and see a president who looked like his grandson. And then he told me that he had looked it up. And it turned out that on the very day that i was born he was marching in to a jail cell trying to end jim crow segregation in the south. What we do echoes through generations. Whatever our backgrounds, we are all the children of americans who fought the good night, great grandparents grandparents working in sweat shops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams. Irish and italians and asians and latinos told go back where you come from. Jews and catholics, muslims and sikhs made to feel suspect for the way they worshipped. Black americans chained and whipped and hanged, spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters, beaten for trying to vote. If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work and could not work it was those americans. Our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of america straiked from the mix. And yet instead of giving up, they joined together and they said show, some way we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words in our founding documents to life. I have seen what same spirit rising these past few years. Folks of every age and background who pass city centers and airports and rural roads so families wouldnt be separated. So that another classroom wouldnt get shot up. So that our kids wont grow up on an uninhabitable planet. Americans of all races joining together to declare in the face of injustice and brutality, at the hands of the state, that black lives matter. No more but no less, so that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism. At the to the young people who lead us this summer telling us we need to be better, in so many ways you are this countrys dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth, for you it is a given, a conviction. And what i want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustration, your system of selfgovernment can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions. For all of us. You can give our Democracy New meaning. You can take it to a better place. Youre the missing ingredient. The ones who will decide whether or not america becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed. That work will continue long after this election. But any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election this administration has shown it will pair our democracy down if that is what it takes for them to win. So we have to get busy building it up by pouring all our efforts into these 76 days and by voting like never before for joe and kamala and candidates up and down the ticket so that we leave no doubt about what this country that we love stands for. Today and for all our days to come. Stay safe. God bless. Odonnell the 44th president of the United States barack obama speaking in philadelphia where our constitution was drafted and signed and making the case that americ american democracy is at stake. I want to bring back in our panel. John, i have been going through conventions since 2 thousand, for 20 years, this is the First Virtual convention we have all covered for the first time. It has always been a speech about which policy is right for america, which policy is wrong for america. This was a this was a speech about donald trump and the fact that what he is doing is going to tear democracy apart. You cant raise the stakes any higher. And when you just think the history la is swirling around in that speech. You have the first africanamerican president , at the location of the document written by slave holders but a document that lives enough so that he can go back to its original principles for equality and justice and then tell the story of john lewis who fought for the right to vote, which then allowed that africanamerican president to actually come into office. You cannot raise the rhetorical and historical stakes any higher. This was the most powerful get out the vote message that ever has been delivered from a convention. Odonnell and yet jamal, too, while not only endorsing joe bieden in a personal sense about his empathy and kindness and being the man needed for the moment, at the same time barack obama imploring young people, offering hope and empowering them, essentially, which is really the obama trademark. Yeah, you know, the history of sort of American Progress is that one generations aspirations become the next generations expectations. And barack obama for all of his greatness was the product of a change. I think were going to. Odonnell and part of that change as you mentioned passing the torch. Lets listen in now to kamalas family who will introduce her tonight. Youre my role model, who fawt me i taught me i could do and be anything i wanted. My very first friend, may confidante, partner in miss chief and in justice. You are a rock not just for our dad but for three generations of our big blended family. You showed me the importance of Public Service and made sure i grew up surrounded by smart, strong, ambitious women every day. Growing up, heaven helped th3 poor kid who picked on me because my big sister would be there in a flash ready to have my back. Well now weve got your back as you and joe fight to protect our democracy. And theres no union more perfect than the one that brings us all to your Kitchen Table every sunday night for stir fry, feta chicken or spaghetti and meatball family dinners. And now that i am a mom, you are showing my daughters and so many girls around the world who look like them what is possible, and what it is like to move through the world as fierce, formidable, phenomenal women in their own unique way. I love you. I admire you. I am so proud of you. And even though mommy is not here to see her first daughter step into history, the entire nation will see in your strength, your integrity, your intelligence and your optimism, the values that she raised us with. We love you mommala. Were so proud of you, auntie. You mean the world to us, kamala and we could not be more excited. To share you with the world as the next. As the next. Vice president. Vice president of the United States. Joe biden has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate. She is the first black woman, first south asian woman to be named on the democratic ticket. This is an historic pick. Someone who looks like us on a president ial ticket. Thats crazy. Kamala harris is us. She was born in oakland. The daughter of immigrants. The daughter of shamla. Big sister and protecter. She is an hvcu tbrad. She is a woman of many firsts. She is a hard worker. A really hard worker. She is she is brilliant, shes smart, shes tough, got a big future. A role model. Kamala harris is a dream tor me. Kamala harris cares about people. There is no doubt about it. When she steps forth she gives every ounce of who she is. She is for us. She fights for womens rights. She fights to end mass incarceration. She is a fearless advocate, the litmus test for america is how we are treating black women. I am talking about someone who can fight for black people, brown people, undocumented people, lgbt people, disabled people, young people, old people, all of america. Its about all of us knowing to liflt people up, right and to remind them that we see them an3 we hear them and that they matter. Going to going to be Vice President of the United States . Greetings america. It is truly an honor to be speaking with you tonight, that i am here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me. Women and men who believe so fier fiercely in the promise of equality, liberty and justice for all. This week marks the 100th anniversary of the pass age 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. But they were unde terred, 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. These women and the generations that followed worked to make democracy and opportunity real in the lives of all of us who followed. They paveed the way for the trailblazing leadership of barack obama and Hillary Clinton. And these Women Inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on. Women like mary church turel, Mary Bethune Sammy lieu hammer and constant baker motly and the great shirley chisolm. We are in the often taught their story but as americans we all stand on their shoulders and there is another woman whose name isnt known, whose story isnt shared, another woman whose shoulders i stand on. And that is my mother. Shammala harris, she came here from india at age 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer. At the university of california berkeley she met my father done all harris who had come from jamaica to study economics. They fell in love in that most american way, while marching together for justice in the Civil Rights Movement of the 19 60s. In the streets of oakland and berkeley i got a strollers eye view of people giving what the great john lewis called good trouble. When i was five my parents split and my mother raised us mostly on her own. Like so many mothers she worked around the clock to make it work, packing lunches before we woke up, and paying bills after we went to bed. Helping us with homework at the Kitchen Table and shuttling us to church for choir practice. She made it look easy, though it never was. My mother instilled in my sister maia and me the values that would chart the course of our lives. She raised us to be proud, strong black women, and she raised us to know and be proud of our indian heritage. She taught us to put family first, the family youre born into and the family you choose. Family is my husband doug who i met on a blind date set up by my best friend. Family is our dufl children cole and ella who call me mommala. Family is my sister, family is my best friend, my nieces and my god children. Family is my uncles, my aunts and family is police sellton, my second mother who lives two doors down and helped raise me. Family is my beloved alpha kappa alpha, our de fine nine and my hbcu brothers and sisters. Family is the friends i turn to when my mother, the most important person in my life passed away from cancer. And even as she taught us to keep our family at the center of our world, she also pushed us to see a world beyond ourselves. She taught us to be conscience and compassionate about the struggles of all people, to believe Public Service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility. That lead me to become a lawyer, a District Attorney, attorney general, and a United States senator. And at every step of the way i have been guided by the words i spoke from the first time i stood in a court room, Kamala Harris for the people. I have fought for children and survivors of sexual assault. I fought against transnational criminal organizations. I took on the biggest banks and helped take down one of the biggest for profit colleges. I know a predator when i see one. My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. And oh how i wish she were here tonight but i know shes looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25 year old indian woman, all of five feet tall without gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in oakland, california. On that day she probably could have never imagined that i would be standing before you now and speaking these words. I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States of america. I do so committed to the values she taught me. To the words that teaches me to walk by faith and not by sight. And to a vision passed on through generations of americans, one that joe biden shares, a vision of our nation as a beloved community, where all our welcome no matter what we look like, no matter where we come from, or who we love. A country where we may not agree on every detail but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect. A country where we look out for one another, where we rise and fall as one, where we face our challenges and celebrate our triumphs, together. Today that country feels distant. Donald trumps failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. If you are a parent struggling with your childs Remote Learning or you are a teacher struggling on the other side of that screen you know what were doing right now is not working. And we are a nation that is grieving. Grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities. The loss of normal see and yes, the loss of certainty. And while this virus touches us all, we got to be honest, it is not an equal opportunity offender. Blacks, latinos and Indigenous People are suffering and dying disproportionately. And this is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism. Of inequities in education and technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation. The injustice in reproductive and Maternal Health care, in the excessive use of force by police, and in our broader criminal justice system
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