Thursday, January 21, 2021

Pearls

 

I put on my pearls today. This is important because I haven’t worn them in more than a year. In fact, I haven’t worn anything fancy or pretty in that time. Pandemic fashion for me involves yoga pants and sweatshirts. I only put on earrings and a little tinted moisturizer for zoom calls. 

 

Today, I wore my pearls and even dug out some lipstick. I did this to honor a woman I don’t know personally, whose college I wouldn’t have gotten into, whose sorority is not something I would have any interest. And yet, my desire to honor her is huge. We share only one thing in common, our gender, and based on that, I feel tremendous joy and pride at her tremendous accomplishment: she is in the White House. She is not First Lady, she is not a cabinet member, she is not a special advisor, she is Number Two in our hopefully restored government and to me, this is a towering achievement for all women across the globe.

 

The pandemic has brought to rise so many things, social, cultural, political, so ugly and repulsive, that we simply can’t see in the mirror. And yet, changes are happening everywhere. Turn on the news and you’ll see more black reporters and anchors, look at the bestseller lists and you’ll find authors of color who weren’t there before. A seismic change is happening, despite the death and destruction. It’s easy to forget that Justice Sotomayor is a trailblazer herself, the third of only five women to have ever served on the Supreme Court. (The first was in 2006.) What a historic moment to see her smiling eyes welcoming the Top Girl in our country to a place where the air is rare, holding that Bible once owned by the first black justice so many years ago. 

 

Our new president is surrounding himself with diversity and all we can do is pray that it all works out the way he intends. I hope that this group will form a true team, not pandering to special interests, not just representing their own demographic, but working together to address, accomplish, achieve, aspire and inspire. 

 

This year, spending more time on the sofa than ever before, I felt helpless and sometimes hopeless as I watched events unfold across the country. I am fortunate to have everything I need as we shelter at home, waiting for the pandemic to end and for our country to regain an even footing on the world stage. I lost sleep over things I couldn’t control, had way too much time to consider the chaos, found it difficult to ponder the positive. I know I’m not alone in that feeling and also in the new one I feel today.

 

I finger the pearls at my throat and appreciate their texture. They are smooth and hold the warmth from my skin. They were born of irritation and physical toil that took a lot of time. My pearls have a slight purple hue, grey with a swirling of muted rainbow. I know pearls come in all sizes and colors, so beautiful and so unique. 

 

I’m delighted by the reason I put them on today – to celebrate a new day for our country and to honor our first female Vice President Kamala Harris, who wears hers every day. For her, pearls signify the founders of her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority formed in 1908 at her alma mater Howard University. Howard is a traditionally black university that had five white women in its student body when it opened in 1867. By 1872, the university had educated more than 150,000 freed slaves of both genders, according to its website. Imagine that. 

 

Today, I feel hopeful. And I’m energized by my pearls and the reason I’m wearing them. It’s so nice to see a girl on the field and I know I join so many in wishing her success. I’m happy to hold up my arms to steady her as she stands on the shoulders of the pioneering women who have gone before. I’m even happier, to help her as she reaches down and out, to encourage and elevate the pioneering women who will follow her excellent example.

 

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