Black Leaders Who Are Shaping History TODAY!

For Black History Month our Facebook page will feature Black Leaders whose recent accomplishments and impact will inspire many generations to come. Check out all of them by visiting our Facebook page throughout the month https://www.facebook.com/OkaloosaDemocrats .

Here are a few of our favorites!

Kamala Harris – first Black, first South Asian American and first woman Vice President

On Jan. 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Black, first South Asian American and first woman Vice President of the United States.

Harris, born in Oakland, California to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, spoke about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, in her first speech as vice president-elect.

“When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment,” Harris said on Nov. 7. (Shyamala came to the U.S. in 1958 to study biochemistry.) “But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible.”

“So, I’m thinking about her and about the generations of women — Black women, Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women who throughout our nation’s history have paved the way for this moment tonight,” she said.

Amanda Gorman – youngest inaugural poet in US history

The inauguration of President Joe Biden featured politicians and entertainers with decades of experience under their belts. But the breakout star of the event was Amanda Gorman, who at 22 years old became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history.

Gorman recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” that called for Americans to “rebuild, reconcile, and recover” from deeply rooted divides and racial inequities, particularly during a time of unprecedented illness, death, political strife and calls for racial justice across the country. Gorman finished writing her poem shortly after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol Building and drew inspiration from the speeches of American leaders during other historic times of division, including Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The young poet, author and activist grew up in Los Angeles and began writing as a way to cope with a speech impediment; by age 16 she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of LA, and at 19 she became the first National Youth Poet Laureate while studying sociology at Harvard.

Source: CNBC.com (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/01/23-black-leaders-who-are-shaping-history-today.html)