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Andile Tshuma

What a time it is for young black women in America and in the rest of the world!

Who would have thought a black girl taking up the office of Vice-President and landing such a powerful office at the White House, in 2021?

On Wednesday as Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United states, Kamala Harris stood beside him as the first woman, Black American of Asian descent to ever take the vice presidential oath of office.

Globally, Harris has been placed in a special spotlight for her history-making role in the White House.

Her victory is not America’s victory alone, it is a dream come true for every woman, every black girl with ambition.

She has proved to the world that women can be anything, and black women too have what it takes to lead.

Yes, because the world has become the so called global village, what happened in Washington DC can surely inspire a girl in Mpopoma, Burnside, Budiriro, Mkoba, Mkhosana, Baobab, Tshabalala, Dulibadzimu, Kezi, Gwanda, Ngundu, or wherever.

Culture industries are taking the message all over, and Harris’ rise to the office of Vice President of the United States is no small victory for women.

While people may argue about whether or not America is playing big brother to the world, it is undeniable that it is influential and whatever happens there could cascade to the rest of the world.

Kamala Harris’ ascension to that position might not bring overnight change to how America treats black women, or change the global perception on issues of race and gender generally, but it is indeed a big step towards showing the world that we can all be anything, regardless of gender and race.

This watershed moment must be used to break down barriers for women of colour.

The Senator from California is the first black woman and first person of Asian descent to be elected into the United States second highest office in 243 years.

She has scored many firsts in her life, an inspiration for many Zimbabwean women and girls, an inspiration to women and girls globally.

Harris, a daughter if Jamaican and Indian immigrants, was the first black district attorney in California, she was the first black and Southern-Asian American attorney general California, was the first South Asian American woman and second Black woman in US Senate History. She has just stepped into another bigger barrier breaking role as America’s first black female vice president.

She has sent a poignant message to black women and girls that nothing is impossible and that no space is beyond reach.

While the world celebrates Kamala, it must be highlighted that as a married woman, her success is partly because she has a supportive husband, who is now the second gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff.

On the campaign trail when Kamala was seeking Democratic nomination, Doug was the dutiful political spouse, supportive and present.

Well, the fact that he announced that he will be quitting his law practice by inauguration day to take in his duties as second gentleman has flipped gender roles at a level America had never seen before.

Zimbabwe had come close before, when former Vice President Dr Joyce Mujuru ascended to the office of Vice-President of Zimbabwe, although her husband, Cde Solomon Mujuru was already a retired army general. However, to have a woman, a married African woman hold that post must surely mean that the partner is supportive. It is quite unfortunate that Cde Mujuru suffered such a tragic end to his life, burning to death.

It is important to realise how Emhoff is comfortable to step back, and to sacrifice his career, as a woman would for her husband. As a man, he is stepping back so that his wife can show her brilliance, power, grit and grace, because he is interested in her success. Isn’t that just goals!

Issues of race also come to ply in this new power couple in America. Emhoff is a white successful private attorney from a corporate world where white men like him often take the lead, with very few women, black women taking up spaces, but there he is stepping into a supportive role to Harris, America’s first female, black Vice-President.

The Harris family is going to normalise an arrangement where the woman is the breadwinner. There are so many couples where the women is the main breadwinner already, globally, however such arrangements are rarely depicted in the media. We rarely see them playing out in public life. However, seeing it day in and day out in America’s second family over the next four years, or even more, is set to normalise that type of set-up in relationships.

The political ascendancy of Kamala Harris has led to a sense of hope for professions in which black women are underrepresented.

For many women in politics in Zimbabwe, Kamala’s victory is a moment of gratification and recognition.

Her becoming vice president occurs at a time when black women are increasingly visible and validated in the ongoing global discourse about racial representation and equality.

While we stop to celebrate Harris’ success which is a milestone for the women’s journey, there’s still a long way to go until black women are adequately represented, recognised and supported in government, business and academia, globally.

As more black women are rising and taking up spaces at these high level positions, it is now, more than ever, important to address the systematic barriers that women have historically faced to get to the top, barriers that continue to hold back young black women. — @andile_tshuma