A Historic Moment
Students, faculty and staff came together this morning to recognize a historical moment in our country’s history. This past Saturday, Kamala Harris became the first Black American, Asian American, and woman to be elected to the second highest office in the United States. This was prefaced by news that Rhode Island elected the most diverse group of state legislators in Rhode Island’s history last week; Maria Rivera has become the first woman elected Mayor of Central Falls; and Tiara Mack became the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the State Senate.
For Sophia Academy, an all-girls school delivering a social-justice education to a student body where over 90% identify as women of color, this is a uniquely notable moment in history for our students. As Sophia Academy Head of School Maura Farrell shared with students, these are major steps forward and cause for celebration for all women, girls, and our country as whole.
What this means to our community:
Kashley (sixth grade): “I feel happy and proud that we are making a change in this world. And that maybe soon, one day, all women, all women of color, and all people of color, we will make a big change: that everything will be equal for each other with no differences.”
Mia (sixth grade): “I feel confident that people are going to keep fighting for women’s rights and that there will be more freedoms for us women. Women know what it’s like not to have freedom and women will provide for gender equality more than men, because women already have that experience.”
Saige (sixth grade): “I feel really good and confident about it. When we grow up, we want to be confident women that can do anything that we put our minds to, and we can prove to men that we’re not just someone to push around or phonies. I want to be a successful, proud woman [because] I am Black.”
Aurie (sixth grader): “With Kamala as the Vice President, she can be a louder voice than us and stand up for us. I think it will make all people of color, women and different races feel safe.”
Sa’qure (sixth grade): “Its not only Black people going through struggles – there are a lot of other races out there that go through the same things. Just because girls go through different routines as boys, doesn’t make it so that they can’t do this, because they do that. If you put your mind to it, you can do it. And if a person puts their mind to it, you can’t judge them if you told them they can do it.”
Sister Mary, Founder: “Isn’t it incredible? Joe Biden made a deliberate choice – he made a historical moment. To look up and see her, our girls must see pieces of themselves in her. When Kamala first spoke after accepting the nomination, she was the only one who mentioned the Beloved Community. It was really beautiful to see that combination of people and backgrounds on that stage Saturday night.”
Image: Designed by Sophia Academy Class of 2020 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment.