To all the women in America – 

I vividly remember waking up on Nov. 9, 2016: “Mom, did she win?” Tears streaming down her cheeks, I felt my smile drop. I knew the answer then, and I knew it once more on Nov. 6, 2024 when I woke up at 3 a.m. to hear my mom quietly sobbing. I checked my phone before beginning to cry too – separated by a wall but connected to my mom by our shared understanding of what it means to be a woman in America right now. 

When Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, my mom, aunt, and I flew to D.C. to participate in the Women’s March. I couldn’t grasp the gravity of what had happened, but I felt the emotion of the 500,000+ voices around me. Respect my existence or expect my resistance. I am unbelievably fortunate that at just nine years old, I witnessed a community of empowered, tenacious, and outspoken women – a community that shaped me into the woman I am today. In a time that many Americans thought to be mourning, they created a celebration. Hope. 

It’s surreal to think that elementary and middle school girls are experiencing the election in the same way I did four years ago – scary, is perhaps the better word. Rather than growing up in a world where a woman can be president, they’re growing up in a world where a sexual abuser can. A felon can. A hateful human being can. We’re telling them – and all the women in our lives – that while they may be forced to carry a baby from rape, their abuser can one day become the most powerful person in the United States. We’re telling them that no matter how qualified, educated, or hardworking they are, they will still lose to a man. 

We can be their hope. Reflecting on the women’s march, I cannot begin to fathom how terrified those women were under their armor of intrepidity. Terrified, likely in a way similar to how many of you feel right now. Still, they knew the world was watching; I was watching. In the face of bigotry, belittlement, and utter fear, they inspired me. What we feel today is not going to be our future, but that’s only if we don’t allow it to be. I’m the president and founder of JCP RAINN Club, a club to raise awareness about sexual assault and support survivors in our community. Coincidentally, we had a meeting scheduled for the day after the election. I asked everyone to state one word that summed up how they were feeling in America right now – scared, defeated, and disgusted were among the words used. Not once did we say we felt powerless. Instead, we acknowledged our emotions before talking about ways to channel our anger into action. Whatever you’re experiencing right now is completely okay. I’m right there with you. Just remember that whenever you’re ready, there are millions of little girls waiting to hear your voice and your story.

With strength, 

Sadie Barash

Print/Web Editor-In-Chief