My 6-year-old son is worried.
When he woke up the morning after Election Day, his first question – as a child whose civic interests are just beginning to take root – was who won the presidency. When I told him that the nation had re-elected former President Donald Trump back into office, rather than choosing Vice President Kamala Harris for the job, he became uncharacteristically quiet.
Because my son, who is bi-racial, is intelligent and mature enough to understand that this result carries implications for him and his father, who is Black, that it simply doesn’t for me, because of the insulation my whiteness provides.
What we ended up telling him in this tricky, tender moment – after we remarked upon how beautiful each of us is, in the skin we were born with – was that no matter what, we will never stop shouting and fighting on his behalf. And that we will not be alone in that fight.
Because I do earnestly believe in the power of “we.” Yes, still.
I believe the only way to successfully navigate the coming tide is by grounding ourselves in the beauty and strength found in intentional community. By uniting to scream truth to power – and to the 70 million-plus people in the U.S. who voted in favor of self-interest and bigotry this year. We will overcome by turning to others in hours of need – and there will be many such hours coming our way, as our rights and social safety nets are sure to erode – before widening our arms to let others know they can turn to us, too, for help and protection.
We will persevere by helping, and reaching out, and learning, and talking, and collaborating with those who possess true and open hearts, those who walk the walks of the talks they’ve talked. We will get by, by resting on shoulders and holding hands and marching in synchronized steps – centered by bodies and spirits reaching for one another, and finding steady, firm, reciprocal grasps.
That isn’t just comforting – it’s powerful. And power can be harnessed. It must be, now.
Around the nation, there were glimmers of hope piercing through the fog of uncertainty presently cloaking our nation and our collective future. Examples of how coalition-building can result in real, tangible progress, even if not to the extent we’d hoped for. I’ll be sharing these wins with my son after school, as proof of what a motivated collective can accomplish: Victories of representation for the marginalized – in this case, for women candidates, especially trans women, and for Black people just like him – that will result in better days for the people they will lead.
Then, he and I will get going on finding protests to attend, per his pre-drop off request. We’ll see you in the streets – signs and voices and extended hands and walking feet all at the ready.
1. America’s First Out Transgender Congressperson
Sarah McBride of Delaware has officially made history as the first openly transgender person ever elected to U.S. Congress. McBride’s campaign platform did not center on the fact that she is trans – rather, it largely focused on protecting reproductive rights, ensuring access to necessary healthcare, and raising the minimum wage. “Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas, and not their identities,” McBride said in her acceptance speech, per NBC News. This isn’t her first time making history – she was also the first trans individual ever to work at the White House, and the first trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention, in 2016. Her win this year, as well as wins for other historic candidates, is “a reflection of how far we’ve come – that no matter who you are … you can live your truth and dream big dreams all at the same time,” she added.
2. Delaware’s First Woman, First Black Senator
Delaware truly lived up to its nickname as “The First State” this year, as voters there ushered in a second historic win by electing Lisa Blunt Rochester to be both the first woman and the first Black person ever to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. Though she acknowledged the trail to the governing body “blazed by three strong Black women senators” who preceded her, she asserted in her victory speech that her win is not just about the glass ceiling she’s finally broken – rather, “it’s about making a difference.” Rochester has been busy trying to do so as Delaware’s sole U.S. House representative, introducing some 90 bills and seven resolutions during her four terms in that office. The bulk of those legislative efforts were focused on improving healthcare access and services for women and minorities.
3. Maryland’s First Black Woman Senator
In neighboring Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks won her own progressive race to represent her state in the U.S. Senate. Not only is she the first Black woman ever to secure the job for her own state, but she will be making history alongside Rochester – as their simultaneous election marks the first time in America’s history that voters have elected two Black women to the Senate on the same Election Day. While it is frankly absurd that we are marking this occasion in 2024, Alsobrooks’ accomplishments are worth celebrating – beginning with this win, secured by besting popular former Gov. Larry Hogan. She currently serves as county executive of Prince George’s County, following two terms as the county’s state’s attorney. Going forward, she pledged to “never stop working to prove that public service – that the work we do – can and must change the lives of people for the better” in her own acceptance address.
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