by Marisol Enriquez, DPBC Chair
Almost two full minutes of deafening applause prevented Hillary Clinton from beginning her speech at the DNC Convention in August. In that time, we had an opportunity to imagine what could have been in 2016. The applause was charged with excitement and gratitude, but it soon became charged with a very tangible and emotional ask for forgiveness and a renewed pledge to never let a loss like 2016 happen again.
Clinton’s speech included all the juicy inspiration we needed in order to take a moment to realize just how far we’ve come, and where we have yet to go. If we take a moment to look back to the late 1800’s, we can see the beginnings of a movement that our grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and the women before them set into motion for us.
She told a story of the year 1919, when a Tennessee lawmaker’s mother, “a widow who read three newspapers a day,” sent a letter to her son that said simply, “No more delays. Give us the vote,” which helped secure his vote in favor of the 19th amendment.
She told a story of the year 1972, when the first black woman elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm, declared her candidacy for U.S. President. Chisholm is famously credited for saying, “If they won’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
She told a story of the year 1984, when she took her daughter to witness the nomination for Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to become the nominee for the office of Vice President of the United States.
She told a story of 2016 when “66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no ceilings on our dreams” and she still lost that race. But, she also reminded us that following the election, millions of women across the country and the world marched in the streets and pledged to never give up. Since then, women of all ages have organized, run for office, and along with our allies alongside us, elected more women to Congress than ever in the history of our country.
Finally, Hillary Clinton told of the story of 2024, how it began with a great patriot, President Biden, and that with Kamala Harris picking up the torch, “the future is here.”
We get to write the ending to this story, so let’s make it a great one!
We’re very close, but we need you to help Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and all New Mexico Democrats cross the finish line.
We have 49 days.
We can do this.
In solidarity,
Marisol Enriquez
