00:00And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today, my mother,
00:05Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts.
00:12When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't quite imagine this moment.
00:19But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible.
00:25And so I am thinking about her and about the generations of women, black women,
00:33Asian, white, Latina, Native American women,
00:43who throughout our nation's history have paved the way for this moment tonight.
00:51Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all,
01:02including the black women who are often too often overlooked,
01:07but so often prove they are the backbone of our democracy.
01:10All the women who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century,
01:26100 years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the Voting Rights Act,
01:32and now in 2020 with a new generation of women in our country who cast their ballots
01:38and continued the fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard.
01:43Tonight, I reflect on their struggle, their determination,
01:54and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been.
02:02And I stand on their shoulders.
02:04And what a testament it is to Joe's character that he had the audacity
02:11to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country
02:16and select a woman as his vice president.
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