As VP, Kamala Harris gives America a 'second family' with many firsts

Harris, 56, has not shied away from using her background as a touchstone for outreach

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is a first in a number of ways: the first woman, the first Black person and the first Indian-American to serve in that role.

Her husband, Douglas Emhoff, will make history, too. He will be the first man and first Jewish person to serve as a spouse to a president or vice president. Harris is Baptist.

And everyone from political strategists to racial justice activists are waiting to see whether those firsts will be mere symbolic wins or the beginning of a sea change on gender and race relations and the launch of an enduring Democratic coalition.

The symbolism