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.
According to ABC7, the Pasadena Police Department has just appointed its very first female deputy chief in the 130 years of the department’s existence. Not only have they appointed their first woman but—wait for it—ISSA BLACK WOMAN!
Cheryl Moody, Pasadena’s 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. Don’t get me wrong; she’s still a cop, so there’s certainly a chance that she’ll become one of the “bad apples” we keep hearing there’s so few of even with all the evidence to the contrary. But I’ll just hold on to hope that Moody isn’t 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 woman—let alone, a black woman—in 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. I’m just saying, it’s about damn time.
Cheers, Pasadena; you’re running late, but you’re arriving.