Let’s talk about the faces of President-Elect Joe Biden’s future administration! First off, I think it's amazing that Biden's future administration will have many positions that have a lot more diversity than we have seen in the past four years. So far, Biden is on track to having one of the most diverse administrations in history, and could possibly create a precedent in presidential administrations. I think it was especially powerful when he gave the highest position possible to Kamala Harris, a Black, South-Asian woman. In addition to Harris, Biden also chose an all female communications team.
Biden’s administration displays a more accurate look of the country, and with more diversity in the White House, more Americans will be able to see themselves in their leaders. A few of the most notable appointees include Susan Rice as Domestic Policy council, Symone Sanders as Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President, Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation, and Gen. Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense (see link below for a full list of appointees and nominees). Diversified representation is also important in the government because it gives individuals who don't usually see someone who looks like them in a position of power someone to look up to. So far, Joe Biden’s administration appointees are a good start in including marginalized groups in the government, but I would push Biden to continue to appoint more minorities, so more people feel as though they are being represented.
Although I may not completely agree with each of his appointee’s political views, simply seeing more people that look like I do makes me hopeful for the country’s future. I hope that when kids, young people, and others glance at the TV and see the faces of Biden’s future administration they will see a variety of people instead of just white men and that diversity in government will become a normalized idea. When young impressionable people see as leaders more individuals that look like they do, they will become more inclined to widen their dreams and get involved in an area they might have previously thought was not for them.
I can only hope, in the future, as we move past the Biden administration, political leaders will continue to appoint marginalized people and more minorities will hold public office. Therefore, by the time our generation is able to hold office, political leaders appointing minorities into their administration will not have to be celebrated because it will be normal.
List of appointees and nominees: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/17/933848488/biden-administration-heres-who-has-been-nominated
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