FORT MCPHERSON, Ga. Aca,!aEURc Amidst the anger and the disapproval, ascending above the animosity and negativity, never wavering in perseverance, they pressed forward.
Pushing through the tightly-secured barriers put up by their adversaries, women broke through with their tenacious strength and determination. The fight for women's equality has been a long and embittered battle, one whose victory has been brought forth by not only women of the past, but continues to be brought forward by women today.
"I would not be standing here today in this uniform if it wasn't for equality," stated guest speaker, Brig. Gen. Anne F. Macdonald at the Women's Equality luncheon held Aug. 22 at The Commons at Fort McPherson. "They have set the stage for all the world to see what America is."
Macdonald gave praise to the women who fought to earn the right to vote during the suffrage movement, while also tying in the similarity between the suffragists and her own personal battle as one of the first female cadets to be admitted into the West Point Military Academy in 1980.
"It's about freedom, democracy and equality," she explained.
Macdonald is the chief of staff of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, but prior to where she stands today, she was one of the many women who walked straight into adversity and never looked back. Her struggle began in 1976 when she enrolled at West Point Military Academy, N.Y., becoming part of the first class with female cadets. Of the 119 initial females admitted to West Point in 1976, Macdonald graduated alongside only 62 female cadets in 1980.
"I remember that first day, and I was scared," explained Macdonald. "We really were all venturing into unchartered territory."
She described how many esteemed leaders openly stated, "Women will enter this academy over my dead body." They even threatened to resign if women were allowed to attend the academy. According to Macdonald, this set the tone and had a heavy impact on the young and impressionable cadets in attendance.
"I hadn't even gotten there yet and I already felt like I didn't belong," she recalled. "Words matter .... Many of our male classmates didn't want us there. Many of our upper classmen wanted us to quit. Despite all this negative attention, in the long run it made us strong and resilient women, cadets and Soldiers."
Being part of an unwanted minority made it a very long and challenging endeavor for Macdonald and her fellow female cadets, but her West Point experience also gave her the courage and strength to be standing where she is today. Furthermore, in January 2006, she became the second female West Point graduate to be promoted to the rank of general officer.
Throughout her speech at the luncheon, she stressed the significance of words and four fundamental values: Words matter. Everyone wants to belong. Everyone has worth and has something to contribute. Everyone wants to be part of a team.
Macdonald said, "You have to respect the Soldiers you lead. Let them know they matter. Let them know they belong."
That sense of belonging did not exist in Macdonald's younger years, but she learned to take the good with the bad and says she wouldn't change it for the world. The hardships she endured helped pave the path for all future female cadets to follow while also enforcing her own determination to climb up the ranks. While Macdonald has been shaped by her past experiences, it was not to fit into a pre-existing mold, but rather to break the mold and help create a new one.
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