The moment Kamala Harris took her oath of office on Wednesday to become the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president was an inspirational teaching moment for parents and kids across the country.
Harris stood proudly on the steps of the US Capitol as she was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the country’s first Latina Supreme Court justice.
The groundbreaking event was celebrated by many families, who shared photos of their daughters and sons witnessing history on social media.
“My daughters, watching history, and learning there should be NO LIMIT to what they can do. Thank you #KamalaHarris” wrote Lynell Miller in a post to Twitter with a photo of her girls sharing an embrace.
Miller told CNN the last year has been full of so many teachable moments for her children, and Inauguration Day was a day to learn about grace, hope and potential. “It means that I can be an astronaut when I grow up,” said Miller’s 6-year-old daughter Eleanor.
Three generations of women in Gary Williams Jr. family sat together to watch Harris take her oath.”This is what it’s about. Three generations. My mother, my wife, and my daughter watching history,” wrote Gary Williams to Twitter. “A Black woman being sworn in as Vice President of the United States of America. Thank you @KamalaHarris and congratulations!”
Sarah Johnson said her son Uly was excited to watch the moment. “Overjoyed my five-year-old son got a half day to watch the inauguration and even more overjoyed that he’ll grow up with @KamalaHarris as the VP! #WomenInLeadership” she wrote to Twitter.
Johnson said it’s important for her to raise a son who sees strong women in leadership, especially strong women of color in leadership. “I think it makes all of us better and our country better, “she said.
Dr. Rachelle Winkle-Wagner held her daughters close as they watched with excited grins. “One of my top parenting moments was today – seeing Kamala Harris being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor with my two daughters,” she wrote in a post to Twitter.
Winkle-Wagner told CNN the moment allowed her to feel connected to generations of women from all backgrounds who fought for women’s rights. Her oldest daughter, Eleanor, said seeing Harris take the oath of office was the moment she knew that she could run for president.
“Watching #inaugurationday playing with my brown US citizen son has been truly special #kamalaharris” wrote Gunjan Manocha, a first-generation immigrant from India, who is raising her son with her husband in the US.
“Today’s ceremony gives people like us hope,” she told CNN. “People with daughters, people with son’s of color, people raising their kids to be better decent human beings.”
Adina Davidson’s daughter, Aaliyah, watched closely as Harris was sworn in. “Madam Vice Present. We see you,” she wrote in a post to Instagram.
“As a mother it meant that my daughter would not just hear me tell her she can be anything she wants to, if she puts her mind to it,” Davidson told CNN. “She will actually be able to see it for herself.”