On the eve of the Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President, a host of Asian American and Pacific Islanders held the AAPI Inaugural Ball online.
The virtual event was organized by IMPACT and Run AAPI in coordination with the Presidential Inaugural Committee. It honored and recognized Biden and Harris, the first woman, first Indian American and first African American ever to be elected Vice President of the U.S.
Near the end of the virtual event Harris appeared and told her now-familiar story of being raised by a single mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from India.
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| Kamala Harris celebrated with the AAPI community the night before her inauguration Wednesday. |
“My mother Shyamala Gopalan arrived in the United States from India,” Harris said. “She raised my sister Maya and me to know that though we may be the first, we should not be the last. And I have carried that lesson with me throughout my career.”
The hour-long Zoom celebration featured remarks from a wide array of AAPI political leaders, organizers and artists including OMB Director-designate Neera Tanden; Reps. Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, and Raja Krishnamoorthi; former Olympian Michelle Kwan; actors Kal Penn, John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, and Chloe Bennet; and performances by Japanese Breakfast, Ari Afsar, and Raja Kumari.
The celebration should be viewed on Youtube which allows the viewer to see the live reactions of those who tuned into the event. Link Here.
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| The virtual AAPI Inaugural Ball on Youtube includes responses from scores of viewers, right. |
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