California is thought by many to be the be-all-end-all of progressive states. Apparently, though, there are even pockets of the Golden State that come tardy to the party of breaking down gender and racial barriers. But hey, better late than never, as they say.
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According to ABC7, the Pasadena Police Department has just appointed its very first female deputy chief in the 130 years of the departmentโs existence. Not only have they appointed their first woman butโwait for itโISSA BLACK WOMAN!
Cheryl Moody, Pasadenaโs new boss lady, joined their police department in 1992 after serving in the United States Air Force and working for four years with the Long Beach Police Department. As deputy chief, she will oversee all daily operations and special projects.
Now I just want to take a minute to talk about how much I love seeing black women in positions of power. Donโt get me wrong; sheโs still a cop, so thereโs certainly a chance that sheโll become one of the โbad applesโ we keep hearing thereโs so few of even with all the evidence to the contrary. But Iโll just hold on to hope that Moody isnโt some kind of Condoleezza Rice, Rudy Giuliani hybrid and continue celebrating progress.
Speaking of progress, can we go back to the fact that it took 130 years for this kind of diversity to happen? That means the Pasadena Police Department has been around since around 1890 and it took them this long to put a womanโlet alone, a black womanโin the deputy chief position. America put a black man with a Muslim sounding name in the Oval Office before the PPD hired a non-male as deputy chief. Iโm just saying, itโs about damn time.
Cheers, Pasadena; youโre running late, but youโre arriving.
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