This morning, history was made. Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President of the United States by the first-ever Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor. Raised by a single mother, Kamala made history at the swearing-in ceremony for 46th President Joe Biden, Jr, being the first woman ever and the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to hold the position of Vice President.
It is a moment that America and the World will soon not forget. Madame Vice President started the day by sharing a special video on Instagram of her Vice Presidential election acceptance speech in which she thanked her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Kamala has been very vocal about the constant presence of her mother in her life, even sharing her words of wisdom, words Harris lives by, in the week leading up to the Inauguration.
“Don’t sit around and complain about things, do something.”
Shyamala Gopalan Harris
And just when you thought this iconic moment couldn’t get any better, we had an appearance from Jennifer Lopez! She performed ‘This Land Is Your Land’ and ‘America the Beautiful’ right after Kamala Harris was officially sworn in as our 46th Vice President. The single mother of two was dressed in head-to-toe white and Chanel jewelry for the historic moment.
Her performance of ‘America the Beautiful’ was a remix to the American classic, featuring a line from JLo hit ‘Let’s Get Loud’ and a special shout-out to Spanish-speaking Latinxs tuning in. “Una nación bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos,” Lopez said proudly, switching up the typical “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It was a powerful moment for all Spanish-speakers watching and a moment of unity in a country that has been fiercely divided leading up to the Inauguration ceremony.
The inaugural festivities also featured a poem by 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet to ever perform at an Inauguration ceremony. While performing the poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ Gorman gave her single mother a moment of acknowledgment, saying, “We the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming President, only to find herself reciting for one.”
It was a beautiful moment for single mothers everywhere to watch these incredible single mother-raised women on the stage. As a child raised by a single mother myself, I will say it was an honor to watch Vice President Harris and Amanda on that stage together. Representation matters, and when you see people on large platforms that you can see yourself in, it’s empowering. Today, little girls of color everywhere, especially those raised by single mothers, felt seen, and it was beautiful.
Better suffer for the truth than proper in a falsehood.