GRACE'S MUSINGS: More power to her
When Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for the American presidency in August, she broke new ground – not just with her speech, but by her very nature. She is the first woman of colour in US history to become a major party’s presidential nominee. She’s also a midlife superstar – in her prime at 59 – and a powerful inspiration to us all.
“Never let anyone tell you who you are,” Harris said at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“You show them who you are.” Her speech was visceral, addressing women directly – not just asking for their vote, but delivering a strong message of faith in female solidarity. I thought she was amazing. For midlife women across the world, Harris represents victory, regardless of the ultimate result of the presidential election. She’s living proof of just how strong we can be.
That strength was evident when she spoke about the ambition of her late mother, Shyamala Harris, who was just 19 when she travelled from India to California with an unshakeable dream – “to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer”. Shyamala taught her daughters to be fearless, working long hours as a single parent, a “brilliant, five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent” who was treated with suspicion at times. But she never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health.
Where Harris’s speech really resonated with me, though, was when she spoke about the injustices women face on a daily basis, and her plan not simply to shout about them, but to actually do something to make our situation better. That’s a message I can get behind – we’re always stronger together.
No one should fight alone, whether that’s against age discrimination, sexism, or, in Harris’s case – as laid out in her speech – the goal of the American right to limit women’s reproductive freedom. “Why exactly is it that they don’t trust women?” she asked. “Well, we trust women. We trust women.”
Kamala Harris stands for everything we believe in in the PRO AGE movement: opportunity, fairness, freedom and endless possibility. She’s living proof that there really is no limit to what we, as women in midlife, can accomplish. And she’s not afraid to use her voice to express her power.
As I’ve said so many times before, the knowledge that women are powerful isn’t a revelation to us. We know our own strength – that’s how we’re able to carry on fighting to achieve our place in what has long been a world of men. Look at all the outstanding women who have changed the political landscape as leaders – a list that culminates with Harris’s run for the presidency. And she will inspire a new generation of young women to wield their power for the greater good.
So whatever the result of the US presidential election, let’s continue to back women like Kamala Harris, who use their strength to motivate others. Because that’s the way we will succeed – together.
Love, Grace
