I first heard of Kamala Harris on Jan. 21, 2017. I was at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., with my dad and my Aunt Barb.
Harris, who had just been sworn into the Senate, was speaking. You know that quote (frequently, but erroneously, attributed to Maya Angelou): “People won’t remember what you said, people won’t remember what you did, but people will remember how you made them feel”? I don’t remember any of Sen. Harris’ speech, but I remember that it made me feel strong and shiny and full of hope, which was in short supply at that time.
I remember she wore this gorgeous tan wool winter coat. (I’m a girl from Maine – I notice winter fashion.) And I remember these two women, a middle-aged woman and her older mother, standing directly in front of me in the crush of the crowd. I had been keeping an eye on them because the mother looked a little unsteady on her feet and I wanted to be able to offer her a hand if she needed it. So I heard her tell her daughter – over the crush of the crowd and the buzz of the JumboTron, and the applause after Sen. Harris finished speaking – “She’s drawn a line in the sand.” And I thought, yes. Yes, that’s what we must do.
When the Democratic presidential primaries began, Kamala Harris was my first-place pick. I wanted her to be president. I bought a T-shirt and a bumper sticker and everything. I thought she would be a good president. I still do. When I’m voting for president, I’m basically voting for my brother’s boss. I wanted her to be his boss.
And four years later, she is our country’s first female vice president. And our first Black vice president. And our first South Asian American vice president. (Why break just one barrier when you can break three or four instead?)
My mom was a few years younger than I am now when Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to be a major-party vice-presidential candidate. She said that at the time, in 1984, it felt like this huge, earth-shaking moment of advancement. But it didn’t happen.
And now it has, but the earth has shifted so much beneath our feet in the past few years that maybe it’s hard to tell if the earth is shaking or not. Logically, I know it’s a huge deal. But emotionally, like a lot of people, I’m a bit tapped out. It’s the year 2021. We can create a vaccine for a brand-new virus in less than a year, we can send humans to space and back, I can reach into my pocket, pull out a tiny computer and send a message all around the world in less time than it takes for me to blink – but as a country, we only just now put a woman in the White House? And not even as commander in chief. As the second in command.
But there’s another saying: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Most Americans say they would vote for a woman for president (and many have!) but, in the 243 years we have been around, we haven’t had one yet. I believe we will. But it makes sense to start with having a woman as vice president. A woman next to the seat of power. To get people used to the idea of what a “Madam President” could look like. And besides, the most important thing about a vice president is that they be ready, willing and able to faithfully execute the office of the presidency in case anything happens to the commander in chief. And Vice President Harris is absolutely capable of that.
I wish my dad and my grammy were here to see her step into the Oval Office. Ross and Lois were very different people, and they didn’t always see eye to eye, but they would have been proud and thrilled in this American moment. Both of them had two daughters and a son; both of them were feminists and taught their daughters how to step into their own strength and refuse to dim their light for any man, and both of them taught their sons to love and support women, and to not feel intimidated by them.
Gender roles are hard to go up against; and a door that is opening for the first time is the most difficult to open. A whole generation of kids will grow up with an entirely different idea of what the American dream can make possible. Little boys will see that women can lead, and little girls will see that they can find men who support them in their dreams. I am looking forward to seeing what “Madam Vice President” and the first “Second Gentleman” will do for our country next.
But if we have to wait another 243 years to elect a woman as president, I am going to come back as a ghost and haunt every single voter.
Victoria Hugo-Vidal is a Maine millennial. She can be contacted at:
mainemillennial@gmail.com
Twitter: mainemillennial
Send questions/comments to the editors.
