"I think that this past four years just put a flashlight on something that was always there, and Trump is just a reflection of the country - and not the opposite," she said. Now, she said, she knows better, and does not expect the election of a woman vice president to make sexism or misogyny disappear, any more than eight years of a Black president eradicated racism. The four years since then, she said, have only catalyzed the hate and division in the country, leaving her feeling even less welcome and more fearful. "I look at a country that doesn't see a place for me," she said, weeping that night in 2016, "when quite honestly, my ancestors built it." As a Black woman, she said, it was devastating to see how many Americans were voting for a man known for his racist, and sexist comments. In retrospect, she said, she too, was living under a "delusion" in 2016, that the nation had made much more progress toward race and gender equity than it actually had. She has encountered everything from little indignities, like being presumed to be a nurse while training to be a doctor, to much bigger challenges, like when she came forward with a complaint of sexual assault, and, as she put it, "No one believed me." Since she left the "bubble" of her super-supportive "women-can-do-anything" all-women's college, she said, reality has hit hard. Today, she says, she tends to be less focused on how far women have come, and more tuned in to how much of the glass is left to be filled. "I was definitely was naïve," she sighed, recalling it this week. Nothing, she thought back then, was beyond reach. Back then, even in the depth of her despair on election night, she insisted women had to only "wake up the next morning, put on our pantsuits, and fight on." The past four years have left her much more jaded than she was in 2016. Now Zhu's relieved to see Harris become the first woman elected vice president. Kathleen Zhu sobbed unconsolably in 2016, after learning Clinton would not be elected the nation's first female president. "We're kind of pushing open a door that was slammed in our faces," she said. She was jumping up and down at work, high-fiving, crying and sharing champagne with friends. Her 25-year-old daughter, Moira Johnston, was also thrilled to hear the news. Harris' election, she said, "is reinforcing the ability to dream and to achieve in the next coming generations." How fabulous is that," she exclaimed, a little calmer, but still thrilled, days later. When this year's race was called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, she was so overjoyed, she screamed, sobbed and cheered. New York marketing executive Wendy Salz is one of several women who spoke with NPR four years ago, after Hillary Clinton lost her bid to become the nation's first female president. But to others, the historic election of the nation's first female and woman of color to be vice president is a long-overdue step, and a reminder of how much more of the road still lies ahead. To many people it's a giant leap forward for womankind. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris speaks on Nov.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |