When Kamala Devi Harris is sworn into office Jan. 20, she will be the first woman, first Black woman, first South Asian woman, and first stepmom to be vice president of the United States. Click along for memorable quotes from her political career.
"If something is worth fighting for, it is a fight worth having."
— Harris in a 2018 lecture at Spelman College
The nature of a relationship of trust is that it is a reciprocal relationship. You give and you receive trust. And one of the most important ingredients in trust is truth, is truth. But what we also know is speaking truth can often make people quite uncomfortable.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images News/Getty Images
The only way we're going to truly achieve change is when there are people in the system who are willing or pushing to do it, and when there are those of us who are outside of the system demanding it."
Harris in a 2020 interview with 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'
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"I believe we are a great country. ... And part of what makes us great are our democratic institutions that protect our fundamental ideals, [such as] a 200 year history as a nation built by immigrants."
— Harris in a 2017 Senate address
"Our country has never fully addressed the systemic racism that has plagued our country since its earliest days. It is the duty of every American to fix. No longer can some wait on the sidelines, hoping for incremental change. In times like this, silence is complicity."
— Harris' 2020 Cosmopolitan op-ed
We cannot let up in the fight for equality, fairness, and justice. Even when, if not especially when, it is hard or uncomfortable to talk about.
— Harris' 2020 Cosmopolitan op-ed
"Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before. And we will applaud you every step of the way."
— Harris in her vice presidential victory speech