Breaking the glass ceiling in November

By David W. Marshall
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

People can be pleasantly unpredictable at times, so our politics is equally unpredictable. As a U.S. senator, Kamala Harris was seen as a rising star and viewed as the possible future of the Democratic Party. In January 2019, Harris launched her first presidential bid before a crowd of 20,000 supporters in Oakland, California. After 310 days of campaigning, she dropped out of the race while polling at four percent. Compare that to 2024, where President Biden makes an unpredictable move by dropping out of the race for reelection. He then endorses his vice president to be the party’s presidential nominee. Just 32 days after Biden stepped aside, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination in Chicago.

Once again, she is seen as the future of the Democratic Party. Donald Trump and the Republicans definitely did not expect a re-energized Democratic Party after the struggling performance by Joe Biden in the presidential debate. Neither did most Democrats. History was made with Harris becoming the first woman of Black and South Asian heritage to accept the party’s nomination. On the night of Harris’ acceptance speech, many women delegates wore white to honor the suffrage movement, the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920.

It’s time for America to prepare for a female president and commander-in-chief. We are not voting for Kamala Harris just because she is Black or a woman. We are voting for her because, unlike her 2019 campaign, she is now electable. We are voting for her because she is the best candidate to bring optimism, inclusion, bipartisanship, enthusiasm, hope, joy, inspiration, unity, patriotism, and energy to a nation that has grown weary of the dark MAGA movement. We are voting for Harris because she represents a fresh generational shift for a nation looking for “new blood” and fresh ideas.

The fact that Harris is Black and a woman is a bonus because her victory in November will also represent a resounding victory in the nation’s culture wars. “From the courthouse to the White House,” Harris said, fighting for the people “has been my life’s work.” We are voting for her because she is a conscience-driven public servant who fought hard for people in many ways. For those who may struggle with Harris being a trailblazing woman, I suggest they consider Francis Perkins.

There are many individuals throughout history who were considered great Americans. Some of these patriots and their legacies will never be forgotten. There are those, such as Harry Truman, who were not fully appreciated during their era, but over time, they were given due credit for their dedicated service. Francis Perkins is unique. Her name will never be well-known, but every American today lives her legacy. Perkins was a great American, not because she simply pushed through a political agenda. She is great due to the lives saved through regulations she developed regarding worker safety.

She allowed the elderly to live with some degree of dignity. She gave children their childhoods back by helping to abolish child exploitation and child labor. Not only was she a great American, but she was also a great woman. She was a voice for the working class. She became a quiet legend in history who overcame gender bias in a male-dominated society. By doing so, she broke the glass ceiling, making it easier for future women to have opportunities in the federal government.

The United States Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington, D.C. rightfully bears her name – the Francis Perkins Building. While the average person may not know her by name, they definitely know her policies. Francis Perkins became the first woman to hold a cabinet position when she was appointed Secretary of Labor in the Franklin Roosevelt administration, a position she held for 12 years. She was the driving force behind the Social Security Act of 1935 and was responsible for drafting the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Through her efforts, the U.S. established the minimum wage, overtime, pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, eliminating child labor, and regulating worker safety. She defined the 40-hour work week, which remains a part of today’s work standards. In other words, if you are a man or woman who at any time received workman’s compensation insurance or have weekends off from work, you should thank the woman trailblazer who devoted her career to improving working conditions for Americans.

In her words, she believed, “Poverty was preventable, destructive, wasteful and demoralizing. In the midst of potential plenty, it is morally unacceptable in a Christian and democratic society. Because the poor are people with hopes, fears, virtues and fellow citizens…” Francis Perkins and Kamala Harris are conscience-driven public servants with the future always in mind. Perkins and future Americans benefitted by having the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives controlled by the Democratic Party. In November, give the Democrats the federal government trifecta, and let’s see what our future holds.

This article originally published in the September 2, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.