January 24, 2021

Madame Vice President

Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States. Even for an office that has been compared by one of its holders to "a bucket of warm spit", I still contend that this is a huge deal.

Here are the USA's first fifteen Vice Presidents:

For the entire term of all of these, Kamala Harris would have been a slave. That did not end until during the term of the 16th VP, Andrew Johnson:

Ah, progress.

Anyway, eleven more white gentlemen of European-descent served in the office:

...until the term of the 28th Vice-President, Thomas R. Marshall. During August of the last year of his term, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified and suddenly, Kamala Harris would have been able to vote.

Now we're getting somewhere!

But of course, Ms Harris may have been legally entitled to vote, but what of her education? For through all the time that yet seven more white gentlemen of European descent served in the office,

...little Kamala would have been required to attend inferior, segregated schools because she was "colored." Finally (and no thanks to the serving VP Nixon),

school segregation ~~ended for good~~ was overturned by the Supreme Court.

Once educated, however well or poorly, one wants to start out in life. But while five more (wait for it...) (wait for it…) (you'll never guess...) white gentlemen of European descent served as Vice president,

Ms. Harris would not have been able to open a checking account, savings account or line of credit... without her husband's written consent. Not until the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (lobbied for by RBG... just sayin') was this practice made illegal.

All that, and only seven more white gentlemen of European descent to go,