For women at the DNC, the nomination of Kamala Harris is deeply personal

CHICAGO (CBS) — On Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first Black woman and first Asian American to accept a major party's nomination for president.

For many women, it's a deeply personal moment that some weren't sure they'd ever see.

The event is a source of pride for so many people, especially Black women. As a graduate of a Black college and member of a Black sorority, delegates said Kamala Harris represents Black excellence.

Not only were there thousands of delegates and volunteers hanging on Harris' every word as she spoke Thursday night, but there were also TV and movie stars—all showing the pride they felt that a Black woman, an Asian person, the daughter of immigrants is a presidential candidate.

"A woman of color rise to the position of possibly being the first female president of the great United States of America," said Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph.

"Kamala Harris is everything that we need to unify, as opposed to being divisive," said volunteer Andrea Holmes Tompkins. "It is just a historic moment, for Black women, for the community at large, and for the world."

But other women, no matter their race, said that they were thrilled to be at the United Center on Thursday night to witness this historic moment.

"As someone who is the daughter of a civil rights activist from the 60s, he was able to see Barack Obama was our president. And our mother, who is also an activist. She died about a year ago, and just thinking about what this moment would mean for her is, you know, we're just thinking about both of them," said Cynthia Wallace, a delegate from North Carolina.

"I'm an immigrant from Iran. I came here about 45 years ago. So this is exciting. This is where I came here for. For democracy. To raise my children here, and, you know, to be anything they want to be. So this is a true story of success and the American Dream," said Faye Hezar, a delegate from California.

"We're so excited to elect our first female, Black, AAPI, first Democratic president from California. She's a daughter of California, and she was my candidate in 2019. I couldn't be more excited," said Analisa Swan, a delegate from California.

"I'm glad that I'm here. I'm glad that part of history, and I'll probably be in tears, just like the vice president nominee's son, I'll be crying like him this evening," said DNC volunteer Denise Harris Campbell.