US elections: Harris' racial, cultural firsts were onstage throughout DNC

Vice President Kamala Harris, on the night she became the first woman of Black and South Asian heritage to be a major party's presidential nominee, didn't explicitly mention the history she would make if elected to the White House.

Instead, she opted for direct mentions of her multiracial background and upbringing. She paid tribute to her roots as the daughter of a brown woman and Caribbean man. She honoured the multicultural village of aunties and uncles in California's Bay Area. And following her speech, the relatives who joined her onstage for the traditional balloon drop included people of different and often multiple, overlapping races, like Harris herself. Western attire and saris were worn side by side.

It was a way for Harris and others at the convention to display her personal story while offering a visual political message that could appeal to a broad swath of people who see themselves in families like hers. Around 12.5 per cent of US residents identified as two or more ...