Harris is ‘star’ for some to look up to
Vp-elect’s story inspires young women and girls
Destiny Brown sees what her future could be when she sees and listens to Kamala Harris.
Brown is a senior political science major at Ohio State University. The Indianapolis native, who is Black, is director of government relations for the Undergraduate Student Government.
So when she saw Harris, the Democratic vice president-elect, speak on television Saturday night, her words boosted her and her dreams for a life in public service.
“She said Black women were the backbone of American democracy, not just saying a woman of color ... Black women,” said Brown, 21. That specificity for Brown was equal parts powerful and reaffirming.
Harris will become the first African
“I thought that I’d never see a Black male president. I certainly never thought that I would see a Black female vice president.”
American, the first South Asian American and the first woman to be vice president, no doubt inspiring many young women and girls.
“Every little girl that’s watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said Saturday night.
Those words also struck a chord with Charity Martin-king, the director of social change in the Office of Student Life at Ohio State University.
Martin-king thought of former first lady Michelle Obama and Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968 and who served seven terms representing a district centered in Brooklyn, New York.
Without trailblazers such as them, there would not be a Kamala Harris, Martin-king said.
Martin-king also recalled this Harris remark: “While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last.”
“Even today, this resonates with me so heavily,” she said. “It made me think about Michelle (Obama), all the little girls I see on social media. Intelligent Black women doing so many inspiring things.”
Reita Smith, a local historian, said she also was moved when Harris mentioned standing on the shoulders of all those who came before her, the mothers and other women who were also important role models.
“And she is their dream,” said Smith, who is Black and lived in the former Poindexter Village public housing complex on the Near East Side.
“She is that star that they look to,” Smith said.
Nana Watson, who leads the local chapter of the NAACP, said Harris’ position will inspire more like Brown.
Nana Watson Leads the local chapter of the NAACP
“It shows little black girls that their dream can become a reality,” Watson said.
“I was inspired and very hopeful that she will make a difference in our country,” Watson said. “I thought that I’d never see a Black male president. I certainly never thought that I would see a Black female vice president.”
Anna Sanyal was watching Harris on Saturday too. The lawyer at the Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease law offices supported Harris during the Democratic presidential primary and worked on the campaign for President-elect Joe Biden and Harris.
Sanyal’s parents are from South Asia
– her father from what is now Bangladesh, her mother from India. She said it is important for women with backgrounds such as hers to see what Harris has accomplished.
“I could achieve something like that,” said Sanyal, 36, of Weinland Park and a former administrative law judge at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. “Seeing someone who looks like me, grew up eating the same food as me.
“It makes my parents’ sacrifice worth it,” she said.
Jasmine Ayres, a local progressive activist who ran as part of the Yes We Can slate of Democrats for Columbus
City Council in 2017, said Harris is also helping to pave the road for women such as her.
“As a Black woman in politics, I know it is possible for a Black woman to achieve the second-highest office,” said Ayres, who is 30 and recently moved to the Weinland Park neighborhood.
“It is going to be an amazing moment watching her get inaugurated,” Ayres said. But Ayres noted that Harris is not as far left politically as she is.
“We don’t need pieces and parts of things,” she said. “I think we need to be honest and serious about the wealth gap and the Black wealth gap. We need to talk about race in this country – not race-neutral, but anti-racist. I think she is serious about that.”
Columbus Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson created the Columbus Commission on Black Girls to study and help better the quality of life of girls and young women ages 11-22.
“For our girls, representation matters. And you can’t be what you can’t see,” Tyson said. “To be able to have our first African American and woman of color vice president-elect, our girls will know that they too can become this. It lets them know that this could be their road to success.
“Our girls see a brighter future for themselves and other girls.” mferench@dispatch.com @Markferenchik