Washington, D.C. — Today, Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden selected Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) to be his running mate, making her the first Black woman and first Asian American person to ever be named to a presidential ticket. Neera Tanden, CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, released the following statement:
As she has in the fight for marriage equality, taking on the big banks, and reining in predatory colleges, Sen. Harris’s life’s work has been about breaking barriers that hold people back and fighting to secure justice for the people—all the people.
Her life story demonstrates what is possible in this nation when we fight for an American dream available to all: She grew up as the daughter of a single mom and the daughter of immigrants, worked hard to graduate from law school, and was elected to lead the nation’s second-largest Department of Justice. She became the first South Asian American and second Black woman to be elected to the United States Senate.
In naming Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, Vice President Biden has made a groundbreaking choice that not only recognizes the importance of identifying a highly qualified candidate as his partner but also the need to center the diverse voices and lived experiences of women, especially women of color, in our nation’s most crucial policy debates. I must also add that I am thrilled to see a fellow Indian American woman on the presidential ticket.
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