PHILADELPHIA (MEDIA GENERAL) – Hillary Clinton didn’t make history alone on Thursday evening; she was surrounded by multiple generations of women who, together, witnessed her shatter a glass ceiling that once seemed impenetrable.
The achievement is no doubt a landmark personal achievement for Clinton, but it also carries a deep significance for generations of women across the country and age spectrum.
Moms walked through the Wells Fargo Center flanked by smiling young women – some of whom traveled thousands miles to be in Philly.
We asked them what Clinton’s history-making evening meant to them.
“It feels great to know that there are no glass ceilings. You can do anything if you work hard at it. It’s a great time to be a woman!” said Brigid Martin of South Glens Falls, N.Y.
Martin’s 11-year-old daughter Colleen appeared in awe, envisioning a new future for herself, saying, “It’s kind of empowering.”
Lydia Carlis, an Arkansas transplant now living in Washington, D.C., reflected, “It’s really great for me and this generation to see another glass ceiling break. We’ve now had an African-American in the White House, and now we’re going to get to see a woman.”
Lydia’s aunt, Janice Kearney, whose parents were Arkansas sharecroppers, declared, “It is a great opportunity because this is history. We’re making history. Hillary’s making history.”
“It feels really big,” beamed 19-year-old Sam Knapp of Washington, who came with her mother. “The other night when Hillary said, ‘For all the little girls who stayed up past their bedtime to see me be nominated, someday that could be you,’ I think that made both of us cry. And I think we do understand how huge this is.”
Sam’s mom, Jeanie Milbauer, was just as proud of Hillary as she was of her two daughters, “I’m so excited to have them here. It makes me cry.”
Hillary Clinton now has three months to possibly burst the last of the glass ceilings, becoming the President of the United States.Follow Chance Seales on Twitter: @ChanceSeales