Gwen Ifill Quotes
This is what happens with a breakthrough. The first ones through the door often get bruised if not broken. Eventually, with a little political acumen and racial sensitivity and a lot of hard work, a smooth new place can emerge.
Ifill, Gwen. The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Doubleday, 2009, p. 257.
In 1869 the all male legislature of Wyoming at the urging of legislator Col. William Bright passed legislation allowing women not only to vote but to hold public office. A local Justice of the Peace was so outraged that he resigned in protest. Then Esther Morris ran for the vacated position and won becoming the first woman to hold public office. See {585019} & {585018}
Gwendolyn L. Ifill was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program with Washington Week in Review. She was the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and co-anchor and co-managing editor, with Judy Woodruff, of the PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS. Ifill was a political analyst and moderated the 2004 and 2008 vice-presidential debates. She authored the best-selling book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.
