[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E29]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   HONORING KAMALA HARRIS, AMERICA'S FIRST FEMALE, BLACK, AND ASIAN-
                        AMERICAN VICE PRESIDENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FREDERICA S. WILSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 12, 2021

  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate Kamala 
Harris on becoming vice president of the United States when she will be 
sworn into office on January 20, 2021, on the steps of the U.S. 
Capitol. Her journey to the White House is a path of many historic 
firsts.
  She is the first woman; the first black woman; the first Asian-
American woman; and the first graduate of an historically black 
university and member of the black Greek- letter organization, Alpha 
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, to serve as vice president. She 
also was the first black woman to be elected district attorney in 
California and the state's first woman to serve as attorney general. In 
addition, she is the second black woman to win election to the U.S. 
Senate.
  Her motto, ``You may be the first, but make sure you're not the 
last,'' are words of wisdom passed down from her mother that helped 
mold her into a role model who is inspiring girls and women around the 
globe to shatter glass ceilings of their own.
  The vice president will, however, be both ``the first and last in the 
room'' as she and President Joe Biden address the converging crises our 
nation is currently facing: COVID-19, an economic downturn, and racial 
injustice.
  Vice President Harris's commitment to leveraging every aspect of the 
federal government to improve outcomes for men and boys of color also 
is commendable.
  During the 116th Congress, we joined forces to pass an historic, 
bipartisan piece of legislation that created the Commission on the 
Social Status of Black Men and Boys. I look forward to working with her 
to enact this legislation and form a thriving commission that will 
address pressing racial inequities and shape landmark legislation.
  She will be honored for being a champion for boys and men of color at 
the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project's 28th Annual Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on January 18, 2021. The 5000 
Role Models of Excellence Project is an in-school, dropout prevention 
and mentoring program serving thousands of boys of color.
  Vice President Harris's career in public service began long before 
she was elected to office. Thirteen-year-old Kamala successfully 
organized the children at her apartment complex to protest not being 
allowed to play in the building's grassy courtyard. She turned this 
burgeoning passion into a thriving career after earning a bachelor's 
degree in political science at Howard University and a law degree at 
the University of California's Hastings College of Law. It is an honor 
and a joy to call our vice president my Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority 
sister and dear friend.

                          ____________________