Given last night's developments, I've never been more tempted to give up, to give in, to curse the election and the "rigged" system that decided it. To hell with votes! What do they matter, anyway?
But that kind of thinking—that's the cowardly way forward. It not only lets us shrug off the very real work we have to do, but it discounts the precious wins of Election 2016. We are all allowed to feel lost, numb, defeated. But I like to believe our feeble American experiment has not yet run its course. Tucked into last night's horrific results are harbingers of hope—the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, the first Indian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives, votes to raise the minimum wage, and to legalize marijuana, which would have been good moves after any contentious election season, but feel especially critical in this one.
So, first, savor their wins. And then, memorize these women's names. They're going to need our help.
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Duckworth defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk. The 48-year-old veteran lost both her legs in the Iraq war after the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down. When she returned from Iraq, she went to work for the Department of Veteran Affairs and was elected to House of Representatives in 2013. She has promised voters that she'll use her new power to address structural issues that have prevented veterans' access to private doctors and to speak for soldiers whose voices have been too often left out of conversations about deployment and foreign policy. And amidst all that, she's maintained a pitch-perfect sense of humor. She's been known to wear a t-shirt that says, "Lucky for me, he's an ass man."
Later this week, she'll celebrate her "alive day," the anniversary of the grenade attack in Iraq that nearly killed her and her crew. "At the end of the day it's not about Democrats or Republicans," she said in an interview with Mother Jones in 2012. "It's not about Obama or Romney. It's about the fact that on that day, those men carried me out when they didn't have to. They thought I was dead."
Ilhan Omar, Minnesota
As of this morning, Omar is the first Somali American to be elected to State Legislature and now one of the most visible Muslims in government. She was born in Somalia, but fled with her family when she was still in grade school. For four years, she lived in a refugee camp in Kenya. When she was 12, she and her family made their way to the United States and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She defeated her opponent handily.
"This district has a legacy of making history," she told the Star-Tribune. "I am excited for our progressive values and to be able to be on the ground at the Capitol representing the diverse people of my district and being a champion with them and for them."
Even in this dark election season, Omar has represented the best of what America can be—a refuge, a promised land, a place where immigrants can do their part to urge this nation to a better future.
Kate Brown, Oregon
Brown has become the first openly LGBT person elected governor, according to the Washington Blade. Brown has already served in the position for more than a year, taking over when her predecessor, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, resigned.
Already, she's been an outspoken advocate for marginalized communities—not only LGBT youth, but women and poor children.
"We've seen that when women have a voice at the leadership table, we can make our world a better place for all women and their families," she said in an interview with ELLE.com last month.
And she knows that she stands for more than just herself: "If I can be a role model for one young person that decides that their life is worth living because there's someone like them in the world, it's worth it," Brown told the Washington Blade.
Kamala Harris, California
Harris is the first black politician to represent California in the Senate and only the second black woman ever elected to the chamber. She is succeeding Barbara Boxer, who is retiring after serving four terms in the U.S. Senate.
"My parents got me proactive with civil rights," she told Lenny Letter in October 2015. "The lawyers who were the architects of the civil-rights movement—Thurgood Marshall, Charles Houston, and others—were who we learned from. I grew up in a community where that was expected. We were raised with a very strong sense of duty—not just obligation but duty to serve."
Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada
One critical glass barrier was shattered last night, as Catherine Cortez Masto became the first Latina ever elected to the Senate.
"I've spent my life and career fighting to protect the families of Nevada," she wrote in the official announcement of her congressional bid. "I care about the people of our state and that's who I'll be standing up for in the Senate."
Pramila Jayapal, Washington
Becoming the first ever Indian-American woman elected to Congress, Jayapal won Seattle's 7th Congressional District. Like Omar, she's an immigrant. She came to the United States when she was 16 and immediately got to work to make this place better. She founded advocacy group OneAmerica and then became a Washington State senator. She endorsed Bernie Sanders and has been praised for her resolute progressivism.
"Jayapal succeeds where others do not because she sees herself as an organizer. She wants to bring people to the table to get things done, and she knows she can do this without compromising on her commitment to economic and social justice" wrote the editors of The Nation, who endorsed her in July.
Sounds like a plan.
Mattie Kahn is a writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Elle, Vogue, Town & Country, and more. She is the author of Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions.
