To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Yesterday’s Events Are a Call to Action
Date: January 7, 2021
Yesterday was a stunning day in which the greatest strengths and most insidious weaknesses of American democracy were on display.
At the urging of President Trump, armed mobs intent on insurrection invaded the Capitol, waving Confederate flags. Meanwhile, in Georgia, Rev. Raphael Warnock, a minister, was elected the state’s first Black senator, and Jon Ossoff, a former investigative journalist, was elected the state’s first Jewish senator, because millions of voters, many of them people of color, insisted on making their voices heard through the ballot box. And late last night, the U.S. Congress reconvened to certify the free and fair results of the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, which they completed at 4 a.m. today.
Yesterday’s events remind us that our democracy is a precious and fragile gift that cannot be taken for granted. They also serve as a call to action for us, as citizens and as members of an institution of higher education, to continue to promote critical thinking and uphold the values of respect, compassion, and inclusion that are the hallmarks of a liberal arts education.
Our democracy was tested yesterday, and it prevailed. Today, the work to ensure its best days lie ahead belongs to us.
