It wasn’t a blue wave.
It wasn’t a red wave.
It was a technicolor wave.

I was surprised to wake up this morning celebrating my country and this company, feeling proud of the congressional diversity we voted into office. Just as we look for a great diverse children’s books to feature in our monthly children’s book club, it is so encouraging to see the same barriers broken in Congress.

In the House, the female voice is going to be more prominent than ever. A record-breaking 100 females will serve in the House next year. The previous record was 85.

Politics aside, many of those voted in on Tuesday are groundbreakers:

• Jahana Hayes and Ayanna Pressley: The first Black congresswomen to serve Connecticut and Massachusetts respectively.
• Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar: The first (two!) Latina congresswomen to serve Texas.
• Jared Polis: The first openly gay man elected governor of a US State.
• Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar: The first (two!) Muslim women elected to Congress.
• Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland: The first (two!) Native American women elected to Congress. Davids is also the first member of the LGBTQ community to serve Kansas.
• Marsha Blackburn: The first female Senator to serve Tennessee.
• Young Kim: The first Korean American elected to Congress.
• Lou Leon Guerrero: The first woman to govern the U.S. Island territory of Guam.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: At 29, The youngest woman elected to Congress in US History.

When I started Little Feminist, it was my antidote to the gut blow of the 2016 election. This election provided reassurance. That the light at the end of the tunnel might be hope, not a train.

And this isn’t just about me or my company. That’s why this is a smile that will stay for a while.

It’s a smile for the 400-plus people that backed our Kickstarter campaign when we needed it the most with the message, “We need Little Feminist to keep growing.”

It’s a smile for the volunteers that pour into my living room each and every month to help pack Little Feminist book boxes, knowing the joy and empathy that will expand a child’s world.

It’s a smile knowing that today is better than yesterday.

Children’s books must represent the diversity of our country, so must our elected officials. That’s why THIS technicolor wave is so vital. Our littlest generation gets to look up to more than athletes and entertainers because they’re starting to see folks that look like them on the Hill too.

About Brittany Murals:

Brittany Murlas is the Founder and CEO of LittleFeminist.com. A graduate of Berkeley High and UC Berkeley, she’s proud to grow her company in Oakland, Calif. She was previously the CMO of BabyList.com. She also teaches growth marketing at Tradecraft.