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the United States
from INAUGURATION 2021
The Inauguration of the 46th President
USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
Supporters across the country describe what it means to them
From staff reports
On Nov. 7, 2020, four days after Election Day, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris finally locked down the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, after Pennsylvania turned blue.
Harris will become the first female vice president, and the first African American, and the first of South Asian descent. Voters across the nation shared their thoughts on the historic moment and what it means to them.
In Rhode Island: ‘Tearing up’
“It was such a relief for a lot of persons of color and immigrants and people with different religions when it became official,” Newport City Council member Angela McCalla said. “I was probably one of many that can’t say it without tearing up.”
Harris’ achievement struck a chord with McCalla, a Black woman with Asian heritage. Although she was not the first Black woman to serve on Newport’s council — that honor goes to Alice Richards, she said — McCalla was the city’s first Asian American and LGBTQ councilwoman.
“For our community in Newport, there’s an ever-growing biracial and multiracial community that finally has a person we can look up to, because we don’t have enough of those leaders,” McCalla said. — Savana Dunning, Newport Daily News
In Texas: ‘A sense of hope’
Tamieka Henry found out history had been made in a text from her mom.
That’s how she learned that the United States had elected Kamala Harris, a daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, as vice president.
“It was a sense of relief, a sense of hope,” said Henry, 26, the president of El Paso Young Black Leaders. “I just felt proud.” — Eleanor Dearman, El Paso Times
In Texas: ‘Hearing the joy in her voice’
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, had been watching TV much of that Saturday morning hoping an announcement would come. She was out-
Egypt Otis, owner of the Comma Bookstore & Social Hub in Flint, Michigan, and her 9-year-old daughter Eva Allen pose for a picture with Kamala Harris in September. Taking the photo is Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Otis said her daughter is now “part of history.” KATREASE STAFFORD/AP
For Angela McCalla, a City Council member in Newport, Rhode Island, the election result was “such a relief.” PETER SILVIA FOR NEWPORT DAILY NEWS Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar was outside doing yard work when her phone started blowing up with the news. BRIANA SANCHEZ/EL PASO TIMES
USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
The Voters
side doing yard work and taking a break from the news when she heard her phone begin to go off.
She ran inside and flipped the TV back on and saw the election being called. The first thing she did was call her mother.
“Just hearing the joy in her voice was incredible, and affirming and beautiful,” Escobar said.
The freshman representative, who shattered glass ceilings of her own as the first woman elected to Texas’ 16th Congressional and one of the first two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress, said the day was “monumentally historic.”
“We have not just a woman, but a woman of color, who is going to be helping to lead our country, unify our country, rebuild our country,” she said. — Eleanor Dearman, El Paso Times
In Michigan: ‘It was bigger than me’
Kamala Harris becoming vice president-elect capped a thrilling year among her sorority sisters, the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. During the campaign, AKAs began making donations of $19.08, symbolic of the year the first Black sorority was founded at Howard University in Washington, which is also Harris’ alma mater.
When Chiara Clayton, an AKA and a Detroit native, volunteered to count ballots at the TCF Center in Detroit, she didn’t know what to expect, but she felt an obligation to help ensure that the process was done correctly because of the historic amount of mail-in ballots coming in.
As she counted, she watched the commotion unfold inside and outside of the venue as political partisans attempted to oversee, interfere with or object to the process. But Clayton never once thought that it was too much to handle.
“I felt like it was bigger than me,” said Clayton. “I felt an opportunity to represent for the city of Detroit, for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, for women, for Black women. That’s why I did it.” — Chanel Stitt, Kristen Jordan Shamus and Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press
In Michigan: ‘Representation matters’
Charity Dean, director of civil rights, inclusion and opportunity for the city of Detroit, said 2020 was the year for Black women. Dean was participating in a virtual women’s conference when she learned that Biden and Harris had won the election, and she was overjoyed.
“Representation matters so much,” Dean said. “When young people can see themselves in leadership, then the possibilities become endless. For Sen. Harris to ascend to the vice president of the United States of America, to live in a house that slaves built, just minutes away from where she graduated from college and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha — it just shows and demonstrates the road to the White House (is) not always the roads that we’ve been taught.” — Chanel Stitt, Kristen Jordan Shamus and Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press
Detroit civll rights official Charity Dean says young people are able to see “the possibilities are endless.” ELAINE CROMIE/SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS
Daytona Beach, Florida, Mayor Derrick Henry says his daughter sees clearly “there is nothing that she can’t do.” NIGEL COOK/NEWS-JOURNAL
In Michigan: ‘Tremendously fortunate’
Jody LaMacchia, 48, was surrounded by the strong women in her life — her 90-year-old mother, her wife, her sister-in-law and her mother-inlaw — when it became clear that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were going to win Pennsylvania, and thus the pesidential election.
“It was great to have those women with us because it’s been really hard these last four years,” LaMacchia said.
She volunteered for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and Hillary Clinton’s in 2016. She joined the North Oakland Democratic Club after Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and organized during the 2018 elections that saw Democrats add 41 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and take control of the chamber.
Then, LaMacchia ran for office herself. On Election Day, she lost her bid for the state legislature. Still, she celebrates other victories in the 2020 elections and resolves to continue doing more.
“I feel tremendously fortunate to be able to witness the first woman vice president, the first African American woman vice president,” she said. — Chanel Stitt, Kristen Jordan Shamus and Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press
In Delaware: ‘You can become anything’
Outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, Ground Zero for the Democratic ticket as they waited out the results, crowds of people gathered with posters, flags and T-shirts to celebrate the election of Delaware’s own Joe Biden.
But for the women and people of color there, there was another reason to celebrate — Kamala Harris becoming not only the first woman, but the first woman of color to be elected vice president of the United States.
“It’s about the character she has, the example she sets for these young kids,” said Shaheen Khan, who drove in from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. “You can become anything in this country.” — Natalia Alamdari, Delaware News Journal
In Ohio: ‘Backbone of democracy’
Destiny Brown watches and listens to Kamala Harris and gets a sense of what her own future could be.
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 after victory was assured, the words she heard 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. -- Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch
In Ohio: ‘Someone who looks like me’
Anna Sanyal of Weinland Park, Ohio, was watching Kamala Harris speak, too. A lawyer, she had supported Harris in the primary campaign and worked for the Biden-Harris ticket.
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, a former administrative law judge at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. “Seeing
See IMPACT, Page 24
The Inauguration of the 46th President
USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
Impact
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someone who looks like me, grew up eating the same food as me. It makes my parents’ sacrifice worth it.” — Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch
In New York: ‘I can be the president’
When Ashley Richardson-George’s 5-year-old daughter, Andrea, saw Harris wearing a white suffragette suit during her prime-time victory speech, she ran into her room and came back minutes later wearing a white dress and sweater.
Andrea wanted to be just like the vice presidentelect. And it was more possible than ever.
“I was just really happy for her because you really don’t believe that you can be anything that you want unless you see it,” said Richardson-George of New York. “So for her, she was like, ‘I can be the president.’ So to see that glimmer in her eyes as a parent, it really is powerful to me as her mom.” — Kat Stafford and Christine Fernando, AP
In Michigan: ‘A part of history’
Flint, Michigan, resident Egypt Otis and her 9year-old daughter, Eva Allen, met Kamala Harris in September when the candidate stopped by Otis’ bookstore, Comma Bookstore & Social Hub, during a campaign trip focused on Black communities across the fiercely contested state.
So when Allen and Otis watched Harris’ historic speech, it was a full circle moment for the Black mother and daughter.
“My daughter is going to be a part of history because she had the opportunity to have a conversation with our first Black woman vice president,” Otis said. “It just shows you how important representation is.” — Kat Stafford and Christine Fernando, AP
In Alaska: ‘Tomorrow, its my daughter’
In Fairbanks, Alaska, Trina Bailey and her 13year-old daughter, Leilah, sat arm-in-arm on the couch watching Harris’ speech. It was a moment of hope and mourning as Bailey reflected on the Black women she loves who never had the chance to step on a stage like that.
“I believe Black women belong in all places where decisions are being made,” Bailey said. “Today, that’s Sen. Kamala Harris. Tomorrow, it’s my daughter, Leilah Bailey.”
Leilah said Harris’ speech made her confident in her own dream of becoming president. “Young girls are feeling like they are able to do more than they thought they were able to,” Leilah said. “I felt amazing because it made me feel like I had a chance to do things that mostly men have done.” — Kat Stafford and Christine Fernando, AP
“Representation is critical for us as a country to finally have a woman as second-in-command,” said Topeka, Kansas, Mayor Michelle De La Isla. EVERT NELSON/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
In Massachusetts: ‘There’s hope’
A longtime social activist on Cape Cod, MaryAnn Barboza of Hyannis, Massachusetts, was confident that Biden and Harris would win. But she still harbored fears the election would go the other way. The results lifted a weight off her shoulders.
“You want to believe the majority of people aren’t racist,” she said. “When those votes came in, it renewed my faith in humanity.”
Barboza has three granddaughters who will see Harris on stage, online and in the news, and it will make a world of difference to them.
“There’s hope,” Barboza said. “For them to know they can reach the sky — what’s wrong with that?” — Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times
In Florida: ‘Nothing she can’t do’
Daytona Beach, Florida, Mayor Derrick Henry tweeted, “My daughter’s political consciousness will take shape over the next four years with Kamala Harris as Vice President. One more reason that she can believe me when I say that there is nothing that she can’t do.” — Zac Anderson, John Kennedy, Carlos R. Munoz, Sarasota Herald Tribune
In Wisconsin: ‘A big step for us’
Wausau, Wisconsin, Mayor Katie Rosenberg got emotional thinking about what it means for Harris to take office.
“I’m excited for all the little girls and young women — and little boys and young men and everybody — to see that you can be who you are and take one of the highest positions in the land and people will support you and vote for you and take your ideas seriously,” Rosenberg said.
“I think it’s a big step for us.” — Doug Schneider, Natalie Brophy and Jeff Bollier, USA TODAY Network – Wisconsin
In Illinois: ‘Jumping up and down’
Chicago resident Shanya Gray, 38, was upstairs in her bedroom watching TV when the news broke. She screamed, and her two sons — ages 5 and 10 — ran upstairs with her mother and husband.
“I was jumping up and down, and my family was jumping up and down,” she said.
Gray is originally from Barbados and came to the U.S. for college. An assistant professor and counselor at a community college, she said it gives her “goosebumps to know that there will be a Black woman who ... has family of West Indian descent” as vice president. — N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
In Kansas: ‘It’s just inspiring to me’
Topeka, Kansas, Mayor Michelle De La Isla and her daughters watched from home.
As Harris said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” De La Isla looked over at her daughters, and tears filled her eyes.
“Representation matters, let’s start with that,” De La Isla said. “Representation is critical for us as a country to finally have a woman as second-incommand of this country, and the beauty of diversity between her and Joe (Biden).
“We often talk about ageism and being two completely different generations and to have the diversity that you have, it’s just inspiring to me.” — Brianna Childers, Topeka Capital-Journal
In Kansas: ‘She just represents so much’
Joan Wagnon, who was Topeka’s first female mayor (1997-2001) and before that served in the Kansas House of Representatives, said it wasn’t so much what Harris said in her speech Nov. 7 that struck her, but the interviews news outlets conducted with women in the audience.
“You begin to get a sense that it’s not just a few of us that have been waiting for a long time to see women rise to the highest ranks in elected office, but there were young girls that were excited about it, there are immigrants that are excited about it,” Wagnon said. “She just represents so much that is possible in today’s world.”
“I’ve been in public life since I was first elected in 1982 and what strikes me is that we are actually making progress. There are more women serving, there are women, of both parties, of color that are getting elected. It’s not just Kamala Harris. It’s that things are really changing.” — Brianna Childers, Topeka Capital-Journal
