Washington seems to be the epicenter of change if Joe Biden wants to bring a substantial shift to how the world views the United States of America. A former Vice President (2009-2017), Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for the 2020 election, running against the current President, Donald Trump. In an interesting turn of events, Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate. Harris has become the first Asian-American and the third female vice presidential running mate on a major party ticket. Previously, the females nominated for the seats of vice presidents were Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008. Harris is currently a US senator from California, a position she assumed on January 3, 2017. Biden’s decision to choose Harris comes as a surprise. She has become the first female from Indian descent to be on a major party’s presidential ticket. Perhaps Harris was easily accepted because of Barack Hussein Obama, who was the first African American president of the United States. He remained in office from 2009 to 2017. Harris’ rise also signals at the demographic shift the US has been experiencing for years. It did not take long for President Donald Trump to talk against Kamala Harris. However, Biden was swift in replying to Trump. During an event at a school in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said: “The choice we make this November is going to decide the future of America for a very, very long time. Donald Trump has already started his attacks, calling Kamala, quote, nasty, whining about how she is, quote, mean to his appointee. It’s not a surprise because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in American history.” Kamala Devi Harris is a daughter of immigrants. Her father, Donald J. Harris is a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics, who emigrated from British Jamaica in 1961 to pursue his studies at UC Berkeley. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a breast cancer scientist who had emigrated from Tamil Nadu, India, in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at UC Berkeley. Biden’s choice also reflects how the new wave of immigrants is emerging in the US. This wave is allowing children of immigrants to hold key political offices. They are either defining their own culture or living in harmony to blend their culture with the US, therefore, creating an environment of tolerance, acceptance, and co-existence. It is interesting to see that an influx of immigrants came to the US from Eastern and Southern Europe in the latter parts of the 19th century and early parts of the 20th century. However, now the influx is coming from the rest of the world especially from India, China, and from the eastern hemisphere. While Kamala Harris entering into mainstream politics and in the White House is a major step of this demographic shift, the same transformation in the corporate sector of the US had begun long ago This demographic shift will certainly define the US of the future. The shift has already begun. While Kamala Harris entering into mainstream politics and in the White House is a major step of this demographic shift, the same transformation in the corporate sector of the US had begun long ago. At present Indians serve as top executives of leading US companies. Sundar Pichai is the CEO of Google; Satya Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft; Ajaypal Singh Banga is the President and CEO of MasterCard. Shantanu Narayan is the Chairman and CEO of Adobe Inc. while Sanjay Mehrotra is the President and CEO of Micron Technology. Kirby Goidel, director of the Public Policy Research Institute and a professor in the College of Liberal Arts considers Harris a safe choice. “It tells us that he (Biden) is looking for a traditional candidate – he didn’t go to a progressive to add to the ticket. He didn’t go to electoral politics. She’s from a state that Democrats are likely going to win, and she doesn’t add ideological balance. She is someone he feels comfortable with, that he thinks is talented and has a good future.” He further said, “Objectively, I think she’s got the experience and qualifications for being the pick. Now the question is with the scrutiny that’s going to come from the pick, can she handle it, and does she handle it well? And does she add to the ticket, or create problems for the ticket? My guess is she’ll be fine.” When Harris made his first appearance as Biden’s running mate on August 12, 2020, she shared her heritage. She said, “My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America-one from India and the other from Jamaica-in search of a world-class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that’s how they met, as students in the streets of Oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today.” The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist