The Importance of the Color Purple: Inauguration Day 2021
Many powerful women were seen wearing purple on January 20th, 2021. Coincidence, I think not.
Many people tuned into the Inauguration on January 20th, 2021 to see the induction of the 46th President, Joe Biden and Vice President, Kamala Harris. With any political event, the public expects to see everyone dressed in red, white or blue considering it’s our nation’s colors and red represents the republican party, while blue represents the democrats. But on January 20th, 2021 some powerful women in our country like Vice President Kamala Harris, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Senator Elizabeth Warren all showed up in shades of purple. I think what sealed the deal was when Former First Lady, Michelle Obama made an appearance and looked stunning in a burgundy pant suit with a gold belt. That’s when many people (me included) ran to social media platforms to find out the reason why all these women wore different shades of purple.
Some might think this is just a coincidence, but others think there’s a reason purple was so popular on this particular day in history. The color purple stands for many things in politics and otherwise. The obvious one being that red (republicans) and blue (democrats) put together creates purple. The Biden Administrations theme is “America United.” “Many on social media wondered if Harris and the others wore purple to show their commitment to bipartisanship. These looks could very well be a nod to unity, an important goal of the new administration after a year marked by much discord, unrest and violence. (In the past, President Joe Biden has referred to the U.S. as a “purple nation”)” (Here’s why everyone was wearing purple on Inauguration Day, 2021).
Purple (along with white and green) was also one of the original signature colors of the woman’s suffrage movement. After getting the right to vote in 1920, woman have fought hard to be a voice in politics. Newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris is making women proud as the first woman Vice President as woman continue to fight for equal rights for centuries now. The National Woman’s Party wrote in a newsletter in 1913, “Purple is the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause” (Purple was a popular color at the inauguration, and Bernie Sanders’ mittens made a splash, 2021). This could also be the reason why singer, Jennifer Lopez wore all white to perform “This Land Is Your Land” and “America, The Beautiful” on Inauguration Day as white is commonly considered the color of the movement in present day.
As for Vice President Kamala Harris, there could be many reasons why she chose to wear purple outside of unity and suffrage. “Purple, red, and yellow were previously used by Harris as her presidential campaign colors. Her campaign previously confirmed that the color scheme was inspired by that of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, who used the colors when running for president — the first Black woman to do so — in 1972” (Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and Elizabeth Warren all wore purple for Inauguration Day, likely as a sign of bipartisanship, 2021). “It was also the color of the National Association of Colored Women, an organization that was in part founded to help get voting rights for Black women since they were often left out of the larger women’s suffrage movement” (Here’s why everyone was wearing purple on Inauguration Day, 2021).
The reason these powerful women chose to wear purple on Inauguration Day may be unknown or a coincidence, but we can agree that the color purple being worn on this day demonstrated the representation of people (mostly woman) all over America. From unity, to loyalty, to suffrage, representing women for centuries and the divide in our country, I think the color purple has the potential to have more meaning than red and blue do in our country. I think this is a powerful way for these woman to make a statement on such an important day. This showed that purple is so much more than just a color. From a fashion standpoint, “”We know that purple is the color of royalty," Ruth Sofaer-Morse, a fashion historian and custom hatter in California who watched the day's fashion unfold with great interest, told TODAY Style. "It generally represents richness and affluence because it was so hard to make for so long” (Here’s why everyone was wearing purple on Inauguration Day, 2021).
If Inauguration Day was any indication, I think we will be seeing more bold fashion statements with meaning over the next four years as the Biden Administration adds more women to represent our country. It will be interesting to see the unique ways women make their voices heard in the political realm.
