Purple Hues of the Inauguration Day
Equal Entrance was founded on the idea of women claiming our space. Nowhere was that more prevalent than the inauguration this week. Like everyone else, I couldn’t help but notice various shades of purple in the Biden-Harris inauguration ceremony this week. Madam Vice President Kamala Harris’ gorgeous bluish purple coat by Christopher John Rogers, a rising black designer, stole the show. Former First Lady and fashion icon Michelle Obama donned a long mulberry purple coat, also designed by a black designer from South Carolina, Sergio Hudson. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed up in her signature pantsuit in purple with a ruffled purple scarf cozied up in a plum coat. Joe Biden’s granddaughter Maisy Biden wore court purple as her grandfather took oath as the 46th president of the United States. Similarly, Former First Lady Laura Bush wore an almost lilac jacket. On Tuesday Night, Dr. Jill Biden wore an aubergine purple outfit in the memorial ceremony for the victims of Covid 19. All in all, it was predominantly purple as compared to a number of red hats and coats in the 2017’s inauguration ceremony. But none of this was a mere chance. They all thoughtfully chose their outfits as purple has a much deeper meaning in American politics and especially for women.
Purple stands for royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. They say it’s the combination between the calmness of blue and fierceness of red. However, in American politics it’s much more than that. Over the years, it has become a symbol of women’s empowerment. Purple also appears in the flag of the suffragette movement. Purple was considered to be the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause,” and represented “the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity,” according to the Women’s rights movement’s newsletter published in 1913. The 2021 inauguration ceremony felt like an ode to Representative Shirley Chisholm, the first Black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States. Representative Chisolm ran in the 1972 U.S. presidential election and used purple and yellow as her campaign colors. Kamala Harris specifically chose to wear purple in honor of the giants who came before her, while taking the Oath as the first African American, Asian American, and the first woman Vice President.
Purple naturally stands as a beautiful combination of Democratic and Republican values, ends the divide of red and blue and offers inclusivity, togetherness, compassion, and a sense of moving forward. This was the reason why back in 2016, Hillary Clinton wore purple in her concession speech as a gesture of uniting folks on both sides of the aisle. Clinton’s concession speech resonated with millions where she appealed to come together as one nation. It was a powerful gesture to see most influential American women giving the message of unity and inclusivity.The purple hues of Inauguration Day resonated with me on a whole different level. When launching Equal Entrance, I particularly chose purple for similar reasons. The gradient purple minaret in the Equal Entrance logo represents women’s empowerment in public spaces. While the purple Bougainvillea flowers designed by artist Laura Marr represent peace and compassion. In 2019, we launched our purple “Nah” scarf honoring the fearlessness of Rosa Parks in the face of blatant apartheid and racism.
@EqualEntrance is all about women’s empowerment and their rightful space in society, whether it’s at a place of worship, public transport, workplace, politics, fashion, science, the courtroom, or on Capitol Hill. Women deserve to be empowered, claim their space, and have the ability to mend divides through our intellect and compassion.