Kamala Harris pays tribute to mother as she accepts historic VP nomination

Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan, from Tamil Nadu, India, died more than a decade ago but she remains a powerful force in the Senator's life

Invoking powerful memories of her mother, "the most important person" in her life, California Senator Kamala Harris made history as the first black and South Asian woman to accept a spot on a major US party's presidential ticket, a moment that set off wild celebration across communities of colour and especially women in the country.

"Oh how I wish she was here tonight, but I know she's looking down on me tonight", Harris said of her mother, accepting the Democratic Party's vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night at the party's ongoing national convention at the Chase Centre in Wisconsin.

Harris' mother Shyamala