With the United States of America’s general presidential election coming up fast, Vice President Kamala Harris is bringing out the big guns — Oscar winner Viola Davis and multi-award winning musician Beyoncé — to convince the people that a vote for her is exactly what the country needs and deserves ahead of her match-up against former President Donald Trump.
Davis is heard narrating the story of Harris’ mother in the clip (via Variety), which also features “Freedom” by Beyoncé, the campaign’s anthem for these last few months.
“Something cracks open inside you when you become a mother,” Davis can be heard saying over images of Harris’ own mother, the biomedical scientist Shyamala Gopalan Harris. “You realize long after you’re gone, these children will be your legacy.”
The clip continues with Davis’ narration, intercut with images of Harris, her mother, and her sister Maya. “This mother came to America at 19 years old. She stood five-feet tall, but she stood tall, becoming a cancer researcher, birthing two daughters – Kamala and Maya. And with them, she birthed her legacy.”
Legacy and self-determination are at the heart of the campaign ad, which goes on to explain that Harris’ mother, “taught them to believe in themselves and to stand up for others. It’s what made Kamala become a prosecutor who fought for justice, an attorney general who took on corporations to protect working people, a senator and vice president who stood up for women’s rights.”
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The actress wrote a passionate post endorsing Kamala Harris for President that spoke about legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
“And now, in this moment, Kamala Harris has a new way forward,” Davis’ narration continues, making a case for current president Joe Biden’s second in command to take the top job. “She says every worker should be able to provide with dignity — that’s your right. Every generation should do better than the last — that’s your legacy. Every American should be able to buy a home, start a business and save enough to invest.”
The advertisement, clocking in at just about 90 seconds, ends with Davis’ assertion that it is, “time for a new generation of leadership, one of optimism and a belief in a better future for all Americans. This daughter of Shyamala, this daughter of the American story, is ready to lead us forward.”
It’s a compelling argument for Harris and against Trump, a man who has repeatedly lambasted American norms and threatened the welfare and general stability of hardworking Americans, women, and immigrants. (To say nothing of his felony level crimes.)
“It’s time for a new generation of leadership, one of optimism and a belief in a better future for all Americans. This daughter of Shyamala, this daughter of the American story, is ready to lead us forward.”
The video is one more way Harris is hoping to make common sense inroads with the American people, as she also made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live alongside the longstanding sketch series’ own characterization of the VP, played by Maya Rudolph. With various polls showing Trump and Harris neck-and-neck with the voters, any and every little thing the candidates do can, and will, be put under a microscope and scrutinized until the polls close on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. What happens after that? Well, that’s anybody’s guess.
One day more, as they say in Les Misérables. Do you hear the people sing?
The Presidential Election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
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