At the first day of the Democratic National Convention, Mayor Karen Bass delivered an impassioned address praising Vice President Kamala Harris’s work to uplift disadvantaged children and foster youth across America.
The two California leaders share a lot in common. As woman of color, they have both made history by rising to new political heights. And, as Bass highlighted in her speech on Monday, Aug. 19, they also share a commitment to improving the wellbeing of children.
“I’ve known Kamala Harris for almost 20 years,” said Bass. “Our bond was forged years ago by a shared commitment to children, a belief that it is everyone’s responsibility to care for every child, no matter where they come from and no matter who their parents are.”
Harris is expected to officially receive the Democrats’ nomination for president later this week. A virtual roll call of delegates placed Harris atop the ticket on Aug. 6, after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for reelection. The vote at the DNC is largely ceremonial.
Bass recalled working with Harris to address youth homelessness and reform the child welfare system when she was speaker of the State Assembly and Harris was attorney general.
Together, the pair helped create new programs to ensure foster youth are not cut off the day they turn 18. Harris also created the Bureau of Children’s Justice to ensure children in the juvenile justice system receive the support they need, Bass said.
“When I asked her to swear me in — the first woman vice president, swearing in the first woman mayor of Los Angeles — we knew we were sending a message to young girls everywhere that they too can lead,” said Bass.
Bass said that Harris has carried her commitment to youth with her to the White House, noting that “when Kamala meets a young person, you can feel her passion, you can feel her heart and you can feel her fearlessness.”
Bass concluded her speech by thanking Harris for fiercely fighting for children across America, saying that now is the time to fight to elect Harris as America’s first female president.
Monday was just the latest appearance that made national headlines for the mayor during a high-profile month.
Bass arrived back from Paris a week ago, bringing with her the official Olympic flag as the City of Angels gets ready to host the next Summer Games in 2028.
The mayor arrived at LAX aboard a plane also carrying athletes that represented Team USA at the Paris Games, members of the LA28 Olympic Organizing Committee, and local elected officials who were at the Olympics.
Bass was handed the flag during the closing ceremony at the Paris Games, making her the first Black female mayor to receive the flag during the event.
The historic transfer of the flag featured Paris’ first female mayor, Anne Hidalgo, handing the flag over to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who in turn passed it on to Bass, during an entertainment extravaganza that featured Southern California natives Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in prerecorded performances on Saturday in Long Beach.
Bass waved the flag in the air and handed it over to three-time Olympian Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time who left Paris with four more medals, three of them gold.
