We’re all distraught after the election results. Vice President Harris gave a moving concession speech, which reaffirmed her belief in the peaceful transition of power. Something her opponent would not have done.
The morning after this unmitigated disaster, I received a text from my friend and First Draft contributor Ryne Hancock. As a proud Black man, he expressed his worries about the election and where we go from here. I didn’t have any good answers, but I suggested that he write a post. This is it.
It was my idea to use the Norman Rockwell painting of Ruby Bridges being escorted to school in New Orleans as the featured image. It captures the spirit of Ryne’s post.
-Adrastos
Little Girls, You Can’t Be President by Ryne Hancock
Years ago, Kaitlin Marone, one of the smartest people I know, was in the studio at the radio station I was broadcasting from at the time.
Marone, who was running for United States Senate to represent the state of Louisiana, asked me a question after I stated that America wasn’t ready for a woman president.
“Why, Ryne?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’d like to say we are advancing as a country,” I replied, “And I would be overwhelmingly supportive of a woman president.”
I answered Ms. Marone’s question that way because I was led to believe, given the fact that the best athlete at Fairview Junior High School was a girl or the fact that I had no problem personally with a woman minister, given that Rev. Melanie is one of my spiritual advisors.
If a woman pastor or even a woman comedian is no big deal to me, then why should a woman president be a big deal?
I mean, we’re taught that we can be anything we want to be. At least that’s what I learned in the halls of Hanley Elementary 30 years ago.
If is to be, it is up to me.
I can fly, I can fly, I can fly
We try to safeguard little girls from the big bad world and assure them that they can be anything that they want to be.
We don’t want to hurt their feelings.
“You can be anything you want to be, but don’t laugh too much. It’s not professional.”
“You can be anything you want to be but prepared to be held to a higher standard than that of a man, preferably a White man.”
“You can be anything you want to be, young lady, but people are going to scoff because they feel that you’re too preachy and sound like their mom.”
“You can be anything you want to be, but your ascent to power, as hard as you worked to get to that level, is going to be under scrutiny. Because people are going to think that you slept your way to the top.”
That was the message America sent to the little girls on Tuesday night.
You can be anything you want to be.
You just can’t be president.