今天, millions of young girls like you across this great land will go to bed knowing that this country has a place for you, no matter where you want to go in life. Come next January, a Black woman, just like you, will be next in line to the most powerful position on earth.
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t achieve something because you are a woman or because you are Black or mixed. You can always point to Harris. She followed her dreams and, in doing so, has inspired little girls just like you to do the same, to know for sure that no dream will be too big, no aspiration too daunting.
I am your dad, and I love you and your siblings more than anything in this world, but I also worry about you, my only Black daughter. As a White man living in this country, I will never endure what so many people of color still encounter on a daily basis, nor do I completely understand the unlevel playing field that women of all backgrounds regularly confront in the workforce. 但, as your father, today is a big day for me as well. 今晚, I will sleep just a bit easier, knowing that this country has a place for girls who look like you.
Please don’t misconstrue that this big news will mean that your life will always be a walk in the park.
The election of President Barack Obama in 2008
was massively significant,
but it didn’t end racism. 事实上,
it probably brought it closer to the surface.
That nearly half the country just voted for an incumbent president who has on multiple occasions refused to condemn White supremacists and right-wing extremists and routinely calls women who go against him “
nasty,”
shows that we,
as a society,
still have a long way to go.
哈里斯’ election won’t wipe out our country’s history of misogyny and sexism in the workplace. That a woman of color will soon be first in line to the presidency won’t mean that people won’t put up obstacles in front of you based on your sex or race as you go through life. But Harris broke new ground today. She has broadened the parameters through which all Americans will be forced to view the world, who has a place in it and who deserves a voice.
No matter what kind of career you choose to pursue, Gabriella, today’s news will positively impact your life in so many ways that not even I can yet fully comprehend. Today marks a new chapter for you and little girls just like you.
I can’t wait to see you pursue your dreams, Gabriella, just as Harris pursued hers.
Anything is possible.
I love you very much,
Daddy