PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – This week, the United States of America inaugurated a new president and vice president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. However, the latter of the two, Kamala Harris, is a history maker. On Inauguration Day 2021, Harris became the first woman, first African American, and Asian American to hold the office of vice president in the U.S.
Facebook/Vice President Kamala Harris
“It’s a good day. It’s a great day because it seems like we lived through so many historical events this past year that it’s kind of like a breath of fresh air,” Donovan Burks, a senior student who is majoring in chemical engineering, told KPRC-TV.
Most significant to Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) everywhere is that Harris is the first graduate of an HBCU and the first member of a Black sorority to become vice president of the U.S.
“There are not enough words to describe the way that I feel today. Vice President Harris, a woman who’s a graduate of an HBCU, who’s a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA), the first sorority, it really brings chills to my spine thinking about the power of this day,” fellow AKA member LaShonda Williams ’97 told KTRK-TV. Williams, a PVAMU alumna, also serves as director of the Annual Fund at her alma mater.
Williams talks to news crews.
A small group of PVAMU students and employees watched the inauguration live in the Willie A. Tempton Sr. Memorial Student Center on Wednesday. The university placed life-size cutouts of Biden and Harris to create a photo opportunity and enhance the celebration.
Members of the PVAMU Royal Court wear “Chucks and Pearls” in honor of VP Kamala Harris.
Here is what other PVAMU students had to say about the historic day via local news outlets:
“To have that moment puts that light on us and says, ‘HBCUs are amazing. HBCUs produce productive individuals.’ So, it’s exciting to see … to allow mainstream America to see that HBCU graduate, in that position, as the Vice President of the United States,” SGA President Alanna Gaskin said. “We are incubators for successors. We have so many graduates who go on to do amazing things. So, to have an HBCU graduate as the Vice President of the United States puts credit on my degree that I’m going to receive from Prairie View A&M University.”
Gaskin speaks to KTRK-TV.
“It just let us know that just because we come from an HBCU, we’re no different than anyone else. It just lets us know that we have to work hard,” said first-year student Elicia Williams.
“I think it’s amazing, it’s beautiful, and I feel like this is a great opportunity, especially for students like myself that have a future and want to become somebody. I just want to say that it’s inspiring to see our VP step in and come from an HBCU,” senior Kendol Pitts said.
Miss PVAMU Jada Johnson, as seen on KPRC-TV.
“[Harris] stated that not only is she first, but she won’t be the last. So, it makes me know that wherever I go and whatever path I choose, it’s going to be a good one, and I’m capable of anything for sure,” Miss PVAMU and graduating senior Jada Marie Johnson told KPRC.
PVAMU’s faculty experts have been sharing their opinions and wisdom about the inauguration and what’s next for the country with local media. Associate Professor of Political Science Billy Monroe, Ph.D., told KPRC-TV, Biden has to act quickly to win over others who didn’t vote for him in November’s election.
“He’s got really two years before the next election to put his stamp on the American people,” he said.
Carder is pictured bottom right on The Isaiah Factor Uncensored.
Constitutional Law and Philosophy Professor Eddy Carder, Ph.D., J.D., summarized this week’s national event perfectly during his live interview on The Isiah Factor Uncensored on KRIV-TV.
“I cannot express to you what a joy and privilege it was today to stand in front of a constitutional law class at Prairie View A&M University, a historically black college and university, and tell the female students in the class what a tremendous turning point this is in the history of our nation. That, at that very moment, an African American female was being sworn in as Vice President of the United States and is well on her way to being president,” he said.
You can keep up with PVAMU’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni “In the News” all year long by visiting the PVAMU Newsroom.
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