When I saw the first news alert Wednesday morning announcing who the next president of the United States would be, I was reminded of an exchange between two men I’d interviewed for a story last month:
When it boils down to it, Marcus Bright said, the election will show what kind of America we live in:
“Will America go appeal to the better angels of its nature, or will it go down to the lowest common denominator and succumb to the appeals of some of our most derogatory and base level instincts?” he mused. “We’ll learn a lot about how far America has come on election day.”
“And how far it still has to go,” Ezra Dieuveille added.
And America told – or rather reminded us – who it is. A few adjectives come to mind.
Undoubtedly, Vice President Kamala Harris had an uphill battle: She was given three months to campaign after being thrust onto the top of the presidential ticket; she battled questions about her race even as she tried to focus on the issues; she was criticized for not giving interviews sooner or failing to motivate Black men, who emphatically voted for her.
People have already listed a litany of reasons why VP Harris lost: she didn’t present a policy, or she had a weak policy, or she didn’t talk about her policies, or we don’t know who she is, or she’s in office already, or they criticized why her policies weren’t already being implemented, and the list goes on and on.
But it is hard to imagine – or for some of us, maybe it’s not – that the better option was someone who has 34 felony convictions, who was twice impeached and hadn’t held a public office prior to being elected president in 2016. Those same qualifications, or lack thereof, would disqualify a Black person. They would more likely be in prison.
Yet, even as some try to highlight Harris’ policies as the reason she didn’t win, for two weeks (and more) the conversation focused on questioning her Blackness, which then extended to attacking other racial minorities, including Haitians and Puerto Ricans. There was even talk of blaming Black men should she lose. Did people want to focus on her policies or were they simply trying to find a reason to disqualify her when her resume spoke for itself?
Harris is an accomplished woman, having become San Francisco’s first Black district attorney, California’s first Black woman attorney general and first Black woman U.S. Senator. You don’t get to those roles or any level of success as a Black person lightly. It is always be twice as good. Her resume is long. Yet, despite being an accomplished person in her own right, America simply said, “No.”
She was qualified, but not chosen — a tale as old as time for many Black women. And that tale is an irony, when the expectation is often for Black women to mule for others even when those others do not even see us as a whole human being.
In the effort to find a reason why Harris didn’t win, people are dancing around the quiet part: America still has to confront its own racism and sexism. That’s only reinforced by 60 United Nation member states having had women leading their countries, according to nonpartisan think tank Pew Research Center. As of now, 13 countries are spearheaded by women out of the 193 UN member states. Some have been led by women of color, including Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
America still cannot bring itself to elect a woman, much less a Black woman. This decision is an indictment on America and the values it claims to hold dear.
For Black women, it is a reminder that we must rely on our communities we’ve fostered more than ever.
Raisa Habersham
INSIDE THE 305:
‘A remarkable voice’: Miami radio legend and ‘that girl’ Jill Tracey dies at 60
Jill Tracey, an iconic voice of South Florida airwaves, died Friday, Nov. 1. She was 60.
November hasn’t been but a week long, and it’s been filled with mourning. Longtime South Florida radio icon Jill Tracey died last week. She was 60. The Detroit native, has made South Florida home since attending Florida Memorial University. In speaking with Tracey’s friends, her life is a testament to what it means when you surround yourself with a loving community.
This Miami filmmaker tackles mental health and the Black community in documentary
Antwon Lindsey (right) on the set of his documentary, HUSH, a film about Black mental health.
I spoke with Liberty City native Antwon Lindsey about his documentary “HUSH,” which explores mental health and the Black community. He also talks about how growing up in Liberty shaped him. Read more about him, his film and where you can watch his documentary.
OUTSIDE THE 305:
Tulsa elects first Black mayor and other Black firsts on election night
Stickers that say “I Voted” are ready to be given out at a polling site inside the Green Street Community Center on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Black people made ground in the Senate, House and a few local races during election night. For the first time, two Black women, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, will serve in the U.S. Senate at the same time. Alabama elected Shomari Figures as their first Black person to represent the state in the U.S. House representatives since the 1800s. And Tulsa, Oklahoma elected its first Black mayor, Monroe Nichols.
Ex-officer Brett Hankison violated Breonna Taylor’s civil rights in deadly raid, jury finds
Breonna Taylor Photo: Instagram
Brett Hankison, an officer who fired shots into Breonna Taylor’s home, was found guilty by a jury for violating her civil rights. As NBC News reported:
A jury on Friday found a former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights in a botched raid that led to her death, a case that evoked widespread outrage and which led to a ban on no-knock warrants in the city.The jury also acquitted Brett Hankison of a second count that accused him of violating the civil rights of Taylor’s neighbor.
Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by police in the March 13, 2020, raid, but not by Hankison and he was not charged with her death. Hankison, 48, fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment but none of them struck anyone. Some of his shots also flew into a neighboring apartment.
HIGH CULTURE:
photo via YouTube
In a week like this, I lean on poetry or song. There have been cries for Solange to release a new album. I’ve revisited her last two albums, A Seat At The Table and When I Get Home. And when I’m especially weary, I turn to Langston Hughes. It may be worth visiting “Let America Be America Again,” a searing reminder of what America was, is and likely will always be.
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Publish date : 2024-11-07 08:26:00
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