LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Leaders from across Louisville said they were excited to watch Vice President Kamala Harris swear in Wednesday afternoon, her inauguration marking a historic moment in the United States.
As women across the U.S. wear their pearls and Converse sneakers to honor Harris, a few local figures spoke to WHAS11 about what this moment meant to them.
Here is what they said:
"I think we're all very very proud for whatever we think the next four years will be. We have this day to know that our country was able to come together and elect a black woman to serve as Vice President in this country," said Sadiqa Reynolds, CEO of Louisville Urban League:
"It's very historical to be able to say that finally Kamala Harris is not just the first black woman, biracial woman, she is the first woman," said poet Hannah Drake.
"I never thought I'd see a black woman ever be in office, even as Vice President, I didn't think I'd ever see a black woman be VP or President. It was surreal to me, it was like, this is real, this is happening," said UK graduate Kachelle Mosby. "I can be President or I can be Vice President. I can do this because she can do this."
"Black women, brown women, biracial women, white women have stepped up in so many ways and this is another example of us doing that work together," said Shameka Parish Wright with the Louisville Bail Project.
"And to see everything that she has accomplished, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to where you're at, you can do it," said Dede Collins, who owns the childcare center Our Angels Rise Christian.
"I'm so excited for the children because when I was in school, I didn't have a lot of women to look up to that had actually broken the glass ceiling. But I saw them really instill in us that we could break the glass ceiling. And now it's come to fruition," said Christie McCravy, president of the Eta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
"The time is now and she's going to seize it. I'm proud of her already, but I know as we look at what she's able to accomplish in the 4, maybe 8 years, I'm excited for her," said Yvette Gentry, former interim chief of police for LMPD.
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