卡马拉·哈里斯周三的就职典礼第一个有色女人美国副总统标志着这个国家最古老的黑人姐妹会，将见证自己的一员达到政治权力的顶峰。
“当我们的眼睛看到它的时候，它会比任何相机捕捉到的都大，”20岁的德扬娜·纽柯克说，他是霍华德大学的大三学生，也是阿尔法·百臂巨人哈里斯在1986年承诺的女生联谊会。
该组织成立于1908年，在所有50个州有1000多个分会，成员超过30万。
霍华德大学“阿尔法章”的七个现任AKA姐妹——该组织的创始社团——加入了该组织美国广播公司新闻直播关于哈里斯崛起的意义还有它将产生的影响数百万年轻的黑人女性。
“她随便走了同样的步骤。她可能和我睡在霍华德的同一栋楼里。她在院子里散步。她和我是同一专业的。我只是在想，天空真的是极限。没有什么我不能做的，”霍华德·西坡拉·奥卢卡尼说，她今年21岁，是联谊会的副主席。
来自佐治亚州的21岁大四学生雷切尔·豪威尔说:“她的优雅体现了她作为一名最优雅的女士的真正含义。”。
这些女性是包括诺贝尔奖获得者托尼·莫里森在内的AKA校友精英血统的一部分;女演员菲利西亚·拉斯海德和萝茜·洛克;网球巨星奥尔西·吉布森;第一黑人大城市市长莎伦·普拉特;许多民权倡导者、作家、音乐家和记者。
即将毕业的2021届AKA大四学生说，目睹哈里斯的崛起改变了他们的生活。
“作为黑人女性，代表和看到自己处于权力位置和最高级别不是一种熟悉的感觉。21岁的阿比盖尔·霍尔(Abigail Hall)是亚特兰大的一名政治学专业学生，她说:“所以，在这个时刻，这对我来说真的很有力量——尤其是作为一个想成为打破玻璃天花板的人和第一个作为黑人女性做点什么的人。
联谊会现任第二副主席托鲁瓦尼·罗伯茨说，就职典礼只是四年日常灵感的开始。
“就我个人而言，我对教育感兴趣，我希望继续前进，改变这个国家的教育状况。罗伯茨说:“她激励我，只要我努力工作，并得到姐妹们的帮助，任何事情对我来说都是可能的。”。
姐妹俩对未来的挑战并不天真:肆虐的流行病、历史性的失业、危机中的气候以及国家面临另一场痛苦的种族清算。一些人承认哈里斯可能会因为她的种族和性别而受到严格的审查。
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所有人都坚信哈里斯会成功。
“你不能在同一句话中使用‘恐惧’和副总统当选人的名字，因为她不是那种人，”纽柯克说。她是一个非常勇敢的女人。所以我绝对相信，我们一定会在这里支持她。"
霍尔补充道:“我们知道，随着时间的推移，变化会慢慢发生。...现在我们的评估是，他们正在朝着进步迈出正确的步伐，我们希望他们继续这一趋势。对我们来说，最重要的事情是让这些声音和席位出现在餐桌上。”
彭博通过盖蒂图像，文件
参议员卡玛拉·哈里斯和与会者站在一起，参加阿尔法·百臂巨人姐妹会
霍华德大学的学生们坐在餐桌旁，是白宫的先驱，他们说，113年前他们姐妹会的创始人可能会难以置信地看到哈里斯在讲台上宣读索尼娅·索托马约尔法官的副总统誓言，他是美国最高法院的第一位拉丁裔法官。
“老实说，因为那段时间，我真的不认为他们意识到他们在为什么奠定基础，”迪尔德拉·戴维斯说，他是该组织的研究生导师，也是哈里斯1989年的同学。“我认为，如果他们今天还活着，他们会为我们作为黑人女性所取得的进步感到非常自豪和惊讶。”
Nation's oldest Black sorority heralds Harris' ascent to VP: 'Anything is possible'
The inauguration of Kamala Harris on Wednesday as thefirst woman of colorvice president of the United States marks a watershed moment forthe nation's oldestBlack sorority, which will witness one of its own reach a pinnacle of political power.
"When our eyes see it, it'll be greater than any camera can capture," said 20-year-old Dejanna Newkirk, a Howard University junior and member ofAlpha Kappa Alpha, the sorority which Harris pledged in 1986.
The organization, founded in 1908, has more than a thousand chapters in all 50 states and more than 300,000 members.
Seven current AKA sisters of the "Alpha Chapter" at Howard -- the organization's founding society -- joinedABC News Livefor a conversation about thesignificance of Harris' ascentand theimpact it will haveon millions of young black women.
"She literally walked the same steps. She might have slept in the same building I slept in at Howard. She walked the yard. She majored in the same major I am. I'm just thinking, like, the sky is really the limit. There's nothing I cannot do," said Howard senior Zipporah Olukanni, 21, a vice president of the sorority.
"Her grace just embodies what it really means to be a most gracious lady," said Rachel Howell, 21, a senior from Georgia.
The women are part of an elite lineage of AKA alumni that include Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison; actresses Phylicia Rashad and Roxie Roker; Tennis great Althea Gibson; first Black big city mayor Sharon Pratt; and, scores of civil rights advocates, authors, musicians and journalists.
The graduating AKA seniors in the Class of 2021 said witnessing Harris' ascent has been life-changing.
"As Black women, representation and seeing yourself in positions of power and at the highest level was not a familiar feeling. And so, in this moment, it's really powerful for me -- especially as somebody who wants to be a glass-ceiling breaker and be the first to do something as a Black woman," said 21-year-old Abigail Hall, a political science major from Atlanta.
Toluwani Roberts, the sorority's current second vice president, said the inauguration is just the beginning of what will be four years of daily inspiration.
"I personally, I'm interested in education and I hope to go forward and change the state of education in the country. And she's inspired me that anything is possible for me, so long as I put that hard work forward and I have the help of my sisters," Roberts said.
The sisters are not naive about the challenges that lie ahead: a raging pandemic, historic unemployment, a climate in crisis and the nation facing yet another painful reckoning on race. Several acknowledged the likelihood that Harris would be subjected to intense scrutiny because of her race and gender.
All were unflinching in their confidence that Harris will thrive.
"You can't use 'fear' and vice president-elect's name in the same sentence because she is nothing of that sort," said Newkirk. 'She is a very courageous woman. So I definitely believe that we will definitely be here to support her."
Added Hall, "We understand that change happens slowly over time. ... Right now our assessment is that they're making the right steps towards progress and we hope that they continue this trend. And the biggest thing for us, is getting those voices and seats at the table."
With seats at the table, and a trailblazer in the White House, the Howard University students said their sorority's founders of 113 years ago would likely be in disbelief to see Harris on the platform taking the vice presidential oath from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the nation's first Latina justice of the Supreme Court.
"To be honest, because of that time, I really don't think they realized what they were laying the foundation for," said Deirdra Davis, the group's graduate advisor and classmate of Harris in 1989. "I think if they were alive today, they would be so very proud and absolutely amazed at the strides that we have made as Black women."
