Inauguration Day

 
“That little girl was me.”
designed by @briagoelier and @goodtrubble

Today our Vice President Kamala Harris strides into the future alongside the shadow of Ruby Bridges.

"The Problem We All Live With"
by Norman Rockwell 

In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges was escorted by her mother and four U.S. marshals to school every day that school year. She was the first Black child to attend public school in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America. 

Sixty years later, how far have we come? It may seem like we haven't come very far at all. With Washington, D.C., filled to the teeth with armed and armored National Guard troops. The Mall is fenced and that part of the city I love is closed to the public. It's not bad enough that America, along with the rest of the world, is besieged by a pandemic, but America in particular is under threat from terrorists born and bred right here. Terrorists just like those that threatened Ruby Bridges. 

Kamal Harris
on the campaign trail

But, you know what? We have come a very long way. Thanks to the courage of those two young New Orleans parents who knew how important it was for all their children and for so many children they didn't know to have a fair and equal chance in the America they believed could be. And to the courage of the two young adults who came to the United States, one from India and one from British Jamaica, to study. They stayed to give their children a chance in the America they believed could be.

I thought my country had taken a giant step away from its shameful, hateful history of racism when Barack Obama was twice elected President of the United States. I was proud of the people who elected him. What's that old saying? "Two steps forward and one step back."

The November 2020 election put us on the right road again. The road to building a country that will share the American Dream with all its people. That shining city on a hill.

Since the election, I've waited for today with a mix of effervescent anticipation and bone-deadening dread.

Dread be damned. 

I will trust the courage of Americans. We will get through this pandemic. We will inaugurate our first woman Vice President. Eventful enough on its own. Add to that, she is a woman of color!

We will not only step up, we will stride forward.

Today is the day.