RECORDING OF V.P. HARRIS' PRESENTATION
Growing up in Oakland, V.P. Harris has spent her life fighting injustice and advocating for those who could not defend themselves. After earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings, she began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. In 2003, V.P. Harris became the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco. After two terms, she was elected as the first African-American and first woman to serve as California's Attorney General. In this role, she won a $25-billion settlement for California homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis, defended California's landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, helped win marriage equality for all Californians and prosecuted transnational gangs that trafficked in guns, drugs and human beings.
In 2017, V.P. Harris was sworn in as a United States Senator for California, the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history. In the Senate, her mission remained unchanged: fighting for the rights of all communities in California. As Senator, she introduced and cosponsored legislation to raise wages for working people, reform our broken criminal justice system, make healthcare a right for all Americans, address the substance abuse epidemic, support veterans and military families and expand access to childcare for working parents.
On August 11, 2020, V.P. Harris accepted President Joe Biden’s invitation to become his running mate and help unite the nation. She is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President, as was the case with other offices she has held. She is, however, determined not to be the last.
