CHICAGO — When Vice President Kamala Harris stepped out onto the Democratic National Convention stage Thursday night to accept her nomination for president, the first Black and Asian American woman to ever do so from a major party, the cheering from the packed United Center seemed like it would never end.
Three minutes after she walked onto the stage, Harris finally began her speech. Harris started by detailing her upbringing in Oakland, California — though she also mentioned temporarily living in Madison, Wisconsin and Illinois — and described life as a middle-class American, a group that is a main focus of her campaign policy.
“We are charting a new way forward,” Harris said. “Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class, because we know a strong middle class has always been crucial to America's success.”
Harris also reminisced on her career as a prosecutor in Oakland and San Francisco. When choosing what branch of law to pursue, Harris said she looked back on a time in high school when she discovered that her best friend was being molested by her father and immediately brought her to come live with her family instead.
“That is why I became a prosecutor, to protect people like my friend Wanda,” she said. “I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity and to justice.”
Similar to her 2020 campaign slogan, Harris said that throughout her career, she has always been “for the people.”
After a retelling of her past, Harris looked to the future and to what a potential Harris-Walz administration would look like. It was here that two recurring themes of this DNC reached their climax: optimism for the future and the strength of Kamala Harris.
The strength of Harris becoming a key characteristic is not unsurprising as she attempts to break “the highest, hardest glass ceiling” as 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said on Monday.
But, on a night where former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Sheriff Chris Swanson of Michigan spoke to the crowd, praising higher police funding, it seemed a direct turnaround to the previous criticisms of high police and military budgets often found in the base.
“Our warriors need a tough, cool-headed Commander-In-Chief to defend our democracy from tyrants and terrorists. We need Kamala Harris behind the resolute desk,” Panetta said. “When she takes the oath of office, our allies will cheer, our enemies will fear, and we will have a commander-in-chief we can trust.”
Harris too, took a hard line on supporting the military.
“As commander-in-chief I will ensure that America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world,” she said, to chants of “USA” in the stadium and disapproval outside of it, mainly with progressives.
But Harris also focused on the joy and excitement that has made so many voters optimistic about the future. A signature characteristic has always been her laugh and seeming love for the most mundane of things, such as buses and Venn diagrams.
The future itself has been one of the most mentioned [things] at the convention, with "A Bold Vision for America’s Future" being Tuesday’s theme. Joy and optimism about it has been mentioned by speaker after speaker and the feeling inside the United Center was that Democratic voters were excited to support Harris, a stark contrast to just a month ago when President Joe Biden was still the presumptive nominee.
The energy was often electric, and with a DJ, plenty of star power and a re-energized base, attendees were having the time of their lives.
“We were underestimated at every turn but we never gave up because the future is always worth fighting for,” Harris said. “We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and on behalf of our children, grandchildren and everyone who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom, we must be worthy.”
By the time the balloons fell, Harris’ acceptance speech sought to balance portraying her as a strong fighter for the everyday American as well as an inspirational new face of the party, someone voters could be excited about but who would still be a strong presence in the Oval Office.
“I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation, that inspired the world,” Harris said. “That here, in this country, anything is possible. Nothing is out of reach.”
Annika Bereny is a Senior Staff Writer and the former Special Pages Editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth for state and campus news. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
