Disclaimer – This is my personal experience of the events that took place on January 6th, 2021. There are many aspects of that day that still need to be unpacked and addressed. 

I worked on the Hill (aka Capitol Hill) from 2018 to 2019 and in 2021 found myself starting a new role in a new company remotely as many of us have during these ‘unprecedented times.’ 

On January 6, 2021, while I wrote emails in the office I could hear from the living room all that was going on the TV. We also had two seemingly pleasant workmen downstairs in the basement doing some repairs. It felt like a normal day. But as we now know, that day would go down in history.

It was early afternoon when I started to understand it was no longer a “protest” and started to get worried. As the day progressed, my family remained glued to the TV as the situation on the Hill declined only miles from where we were located. My anxiety and feelings of fear increased. I would periodically walk over and check what was happening on the TV. It was during one of these instances that I saw a woman being wheeled out on a gurney and I hit peak fear and started crying and shaking. 

I remember the woman’s shoes vividly. She had what looked like LL Bean rain boots on, the practical kind. We would often wear “sensible” weather appropriate shoes on our way into work and then change into heels at our desk. My mind began racing. What if that was a Hill staffer like me? Was she trying to evacuate her office and got caught in the crossfire? Would she be okay? It turned out she was not a staffer, she was an insurrectionist who ultimately perished from her wounds. 

At the end of the day, the two men who were working in the basement, came up the stairs and started packing up. While the paperwork was being finalized, we chatted in some kind of fugue state about how odd the day’s events were.

From their perspective, the day’s events were needed, it was just a matter of time. As they spoke, a sense of anger and disbelief washed over me. How was scaring and making Congressmen and Women and staff fear for their lives needed? How could the killing of innocent men and women, the deaths by suicide after the fact, be needed? 

What I couldn’t, and still can’t, understand is the brazen disrespect of it all. How could they deface and degrade the House and Senate chambers which I held in such high regard? I know what it’s like to respectfully fight for what you believe in, to advocate for those who can’t and I know damn well what took place January 6th, 2021 was neither. What happened January 6th, 2021 was immature adults throwing a tantrum, hanging from rafters, breaking things, stealing things, all of which ultimately ended in the deaths of innocent lives and heartache for millions.

My great great grandfather and his family immigrated to America, like most of our families. January 6th, 2021 filled me with shame. I felt I had somehow failed my family and the rest of the  people who have risked everything, and built this country with the sweat of their brows and hard hard work. Was everything for naught? If they could see all this, what would they say, what would they think?

I now work in training the next generation of women leaders in politics and policy work. This January 6th, I’m damn proud and thankful to be creating real change to these United States and I think my forefathers would be too. 

If you felt any of the emotions I mentioned in this article, become an advocate and get informed about what is happening in your community and beyond and get our representation to reflect our population. The folks that look like you or me, the folks who can understand where we come from, literally and figuratively, the folks who understand the idiosyncrasies and complexities of our diverse lives and needs, and those of our future children. After what I experienced firsthand on January 6, 2021, I can confidently say that I will work, educate and empower others to ensure we don’t witness a moment in history like that again.

Below are a list of organizations working towards increased representation: