A photo captures what Harris’ nomination could mean for young girls

By CNN Newsource

Published August 23, 2024 8:00 PM

By Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — For Vice President Kamala Harris, her Thursday night speech accepting the Democratic nomination marked one of the most high-profile moments of a rapid rise to become the first Black and Asian American woman to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.

One image, however, has captured what the moment could mean for young girls.

Shot by New York Times staff photographer Todd Heisler, the photo features Amara Ajagu, one of the vice president’s young grandnieces, staring on as Harris delivered her address to the convention. More so than most little girls, Ajagu can say that Harris could be the first president who looks like her.

Harris’ potential to be the first has been an undercurrent of her presidential runs since her first campaign in 2020. Though she opted for a dark suit Thursday, instead of the suffragette white worn by an overwhelming number of Democratic women in the Chicago convention center, the historic nature of the moment was top of mind for many throughout the week.

Several speakers talked about those who ran before her, from former New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm — who in 1972 became the first Black woman to run for a major party nomination — to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The photo is also a reminder of the role Harris’ family played in the convention. Prior to the vice president’s speech, Amara and her younger sister, Leela, led the crowd in a lesson on how to pronounce their great-aunt’s first name: “Comma,” like the punctuation mark, then “La,” like the sing-song “la, la, la.”

Heisler told CNN’s Abby Phillip Friday that he was positioned in a buffer area directly behind Harris’ family in front of the stage, and that he was working hard to get a photograph that would give people “something a little different that you don’t see on TV.”

“I turned around and moved over a couple of feet to reposition and when I looked up, this is the angle that I saw, and I made that photograph. It just kind of presented itself to me,” he said on “NewsNight.”

Asked what he thought of how the photo has resonated with people, Heisler said, “To be able to reach that many people with an image is just really powerful. It speaks to the power of photojournalism, you know, especially in a time of AI and people questioning reality … To have seasoned photographers in the room who understand the context and the historical significance of what’s happening, you know, in front of them, I think is really important.”

This story has been updated with comments from Heisler.

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.