The Historical Women of the Inauguration

There were important, historical women who took part in the 59th United States Inauguration and I think that it is important to highlight their accomplishments. ​

The female focus of the Inauguration was rightly so, Kamala Harris. She is the first minority Vice President of the United States being a woman and from Jamaican and Indian descent. She has had a lengthy and successful career as a lawyer, climbing her way up in California to California Attorney General in 2010. In 2017, she was sworn in to the United States Senate where she would go on to serve on the Senate Homeland Security, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. According to Kamala’s page on whitehouse.gov, ‘Her parents were activists, instilling Vice President Harris with a strong sense of justice. They brought her to civil rights demonstrations and introduced role models—ranging from Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to civil rights leader Constance Baker Motley—whose work motivated her to become a prosecutor.’ Now, it is Vice President Harris who is the inspiration and role model to millions of women and girls in the United States. 

Sonia Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who swore in Vice President Harris. Like Vice President Harris, she also holds a female first title as the first Hispanic and Latina woman to serve as a member of the Supreme Court. She is a graduate of Princeton, which she attended on a full scholarship and Yale Law School. Her career spans private and public law and she moved her way up through the United States court systems as Presidents nominated her, seeing her potential as a strong advocate of the law. In 2019, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. 

Finally, I would like to highlight Amanda Gorman. She is the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration in United States history delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. The poem she wrote and delivered with a sense of calm eloquence and strength was one of the best pieces of literature I have ever heard. According to Wikipedia, her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She is a published author and in 2016, Gorman founded the nonprofit organization One Pen One Page, a youth writing and leadership program. In 2017, Gorman became the first youth poet to open the literary season for the Library of Congress. The Morgan Library and Museum acquired her poem "In This Place (An American Lyric)" and displayed it in 2018 near works by Elizabeth Bishop. In 2017, Gorman said she wants to run for president in 2036, and she has subsequently often repeated this hope. After she read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for this 2036 aspiration. 

January 20, 2021 certainly was a historical day for all women. Although it is unbelievable that it has taken this long to get here, we are here! I believe it is women like Vice President Harris, Sonia Sotomayor and Amanda Gorman that will open the doors and continue to pave the path for future generations of women because they have been recognized. Your service to the United States and the fight for equality is our future. 

Sources:
Whitehouse.gov
Wikipedia