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Watching the President-elect formally nominate Lloyd Austin, III as his Secretary of Defense was pretty emotional for me. I never thought I would see a Black person nominated to be the Secretary of Defense. Working for DoD, I never had a Black boss & rarely had Black co-workers.
Those co-workers I did have were largely in administrative roles. I've grown accustomed to being the only civilian Brown or Black face in a room, but sometimes, it's really damn hard to be the unicorn who everyone always notices and no one forgets. You cannot make mistakes.
When I consider what Austin had to endure/overcome/etc to even be considered for such a nomination, I am awed. People doubting if you belong in the space in which they find you or believing that whatever you've earned has simply been given to you at the expense of someone else...
I've seen people post about what we miss by not elevating women to powerful positions. But I challenge us to also consider what we miss by not elevating Black people to powerful positions. I'm a Black woman and won't hide my joy at seeing someone who looks like me as the nominee.
I would have been HYPE to see a woman nominated, but I don't feel as though women have been cheated, betrayed, or overlooked with this nomination. I'm not trying to participate in the oppression Olympics, but I see the nomination's historic significance and can smile.
In such moments, many people often reflect on those people who we wish were alive to witness it. For me, that person is my great-uncle, who bore the mental and physical scars from 3 yrs as a Korean War POW. Y'all, this nomination would have been beyond my ancestor's wildest dream
