The girls Kamala Harris addressed in her speech were keeping a close watch

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Families flooded social media with photos of their daughters and nieces glued to screens as Harris, the first woman, first black person and first South Asian person to become vice president-elect, celebrated. Her victory, their mothers and aunts told CNN, proves to the young women and girls in their lives that they too can dream all the way to the White House.

In 2016, Hanna Nichols watched the presidential election results roll in as she held her baby girl in her arms. Four years later, she again kept her daughter close – and this time the 4-year-old girl watched excitedly.

Nichols shared a black-and-white photo of his daughter in pajamas, paying close attention to Harris from their home in Golden, Colo.

“” Is she talking to me? “” Nichols said his daughter asked. “Yes baby, she is.”

Like any toddler, Nichols’ daughter ultimately missed the lengthy speeches Harris and his running mate, President-elect Joe Biden, gave on Saturday. But Nichols said she continues to talk with her daughter about the importance of Harris’ victory – and the importance of kindness.

“She also thinks we should let the children vote, as she told me this morning!” Nichols said.

They feel their future is limitless

Eliana Guzmán-Snyder looked at Harris `` carefully, '' says her mother Rosa.

Rosa Guzmán-Snyder’s 7-year-old daughter Eliana watched Harris’ speech from a laptop. Guzmán-Snyder said her “heart exploded” when she heard Harris say that she would not be the last woman in the White House.

“I saw Eliana watching so closely on Saturday,” Guzmán-Snyder told CNN. “(Harris) was talking straight to Eliana.”

Guzmán-Snyder was born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents. The past four years of racist rhetoric and restrictive immigration policies have been “incredibly disheartening,” she said. Harris’ victory is like “getting out there and seeing a better future” – for the immigrants and for his daughter.

They can follow his example

Cassandre Bonhomme's nieces watched Harris closely on Saturday.

Cassandre Bonhomme’s two nieces, aged 2 and 3, performed stunningly in front of the television in Hamilton, New Jersey, as Hamilton celebrated his victory with his family.

“Someday these two will be able to show up at any office they choose, and they won’t be judged on their skin color,” Bonhomme told CNN. “A dream indeed.”

They may not have recognized the importance of Harris’ victory, but Bonhomme certainly felt it. Daughter of immigrants, she cried when Harris spoke. She said Harris’ victory was one she could share with her 20-year-old daughter, who attends an HBCU and has voted for the first time this year.

“My parents’ sacrifices were not in vain,” she says. “It’s really a small step, but a step nonetheless.”

They see each other in Harris

Neelam Patel Crawley's 1-year-old daughter couldn't understand the significance of Harris. win, but his mother did.
Neelam Patel Crawley in Durham, NC watched her 1-year-old daughter, who is half black and half Indian like Harris, watch the Vice President-elect as she addressed the nation on Saturday, dressed of white suffragette.

Seeing a woman who shared her daughter’s racial origins was important, Patel Crawley said.

“It’s inspiring to know that she will have endless opportunities and that she can see through Kamala what those opportunities look like,” she told CNN. “Honestly, several months ago I was nervous and scared for her, but that weight has now been lifted.”

Her daughter will continue to play and chat before realizing how important Saturday has been to her family. But she will grow up in an age that emphasizes acceptance – something Harris’ victory cemented for her, Patel Crawley said.

Their families know there is still work to be done

Many families who spoke with CNN said they knew the weeks and even years to come won’t be as easy or as festive as Saturday made them think. The country remains deeply divided, as the election results proved, and President Donald Trump refuses to give in. Harris has had to resist racist attacks from naysayers and deliberate mispronunciation of her name in the past, and will likely face the same throughout her tenure as vice president.

But having Harris in the White House, holding the second-highest office in the United States, is a great start, they said.

Kamala Harris, as first woman elected vice president, says she 'won't be the last'

“I’m sure it will take a lot longer before we can say ‘Madam President’,” Bonhomme said. “But for my nieces, to think that this country finally accepts that women can lead, women can have a say in the scheme of things … and a woman of color! This is a big step in the right direction. direction.”

Biden-Harris’s victory, along with the political tension that followed, sets the stage for a conversation between parents and children living through this historic time, Nichols said.

“Adults should be prepared to have conversations with the kids in their world, even when it’s uncomfortable … because they’re listening,” she told CNN. “Their ability to create a brighter world depends on us in addition to their innate curiosity and humanity.”

All eyes will be on Biden and Harris during their transition and throughout their tenure in the White House. Children who admire or look like Harris will be some of the most vigilant of their constituents – and if they listen to his words, they may end up inspiring generations to come.



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