Review: “Ambitious girl”, Meena Harris. You tell them who you are.
A TV look at the discourse of a Black female politician for another equal, but at a young age, and all condemnations suffered due to her assertiveness, strength, pride and haughtiness is the reason for the beginning of a girl’s journey through her past, present and future of stories, ancestry and legacy of ambitions, struggle, conquests and historical power of Black and Brown, Indigenous, Latin, Asian, Muslim, white and other ethno-racial denominations women that Meena Harris so movingly parades in “Ambitious girl” (Little, Brown and Company, 2021), her newest children’s book and second in the editorial career illustrated by Marissa Valdez. The brief history of multiracial organized women and/or feminists achievements is the key used by Harris in the linguistic-literary and subjective rehabilitation of “ambition” word as a claiming attribute and individual positified feminine characteristic under its denial as quality, or suppression in favor of an adventurous humility, selflessness, passivity and necessary moral rectitude crystallized such a pattern of a white, heterocisnormative and Christian femininity. For this reason, the Oakland-native author stresses the importance of empowerment through stimulating competences and skills in a collective scope and self-definition which is the key to self-knowledge and ancestral past, possibilities in the present and dreams also opened to (female) others in/as future.
Girls of any age, including adults, especially Black and non-Black, says Meena, reframe and reclaim “ambition” by purpose, conviction, power, wisdom, courage, pride, (self) confidence, resilience, human right to life, freedom, dignity and recognition, and happiness. Make yourselves seen, heard, lifted up, and celebrated. Cheer yourself up each step of the journey. Applaud your own and your sister’s achievements. Rise among, and despite challenges. Be yourself and pave the way for contemporaries and descendants in a very near tomorrow.
While Black women’s boldness and insubmission continue to arouse white fear and hatred — harmful pages that have not yet been turned in History — , Black women rise to Vice Presidency and, soon, to Presidency nation/worldwide.
Ambitious girls get it done. Ambitious girls lead with conviction. Ambitious girls dream with ambition. Ambitious girls see themselves in a way others might not be seen, but will hear about. Ambitious girls let the doors open to their equals go further. Ambitious girls turn self-determined and strong women.
Meena Harris. Ambitious girl. Little, Brown and Company, 2021.
