Chelsea Alexander

INTRODUCTION Imagine adolescence as a bustling train station. Young passengers eagerly await a train, standing on platforms with a destination—Adulthood—hanging above them. For many in the mid-twentieth century, the boarding requirements for this train were predictable: secure a stable job, find a romantic partner, and voilà! You had a ticket to a fulfilling adult life, complete with homeownership, family, and a path to retirement.

INTRODUCTION Racial discrimination—explicit or subtle racially based differential treatment—is a chronic social stressor that alienates individuals racialized as Black (henceforth referred to as Black Americans/people), produces differential outcomes, and limits equal opportunity and access to resources (Cuevas & Boen, 2021). Nearly three-quarters of Black adults report experiencing racial discrimination in their lifetime (Lee et al., 2019).

The 2020 election might have been a battle between two white male septuagenarians, but it also contained two major political milestones for women of color. The first is that on Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the first Black and South Asian American vice president — the first woman and first woman of color to serve in that role.