Mood Song: Revolution (1969) Nina Simone
After the 2018 primary election, there is no denying that history was made across the country. There was a blue wave and thanks to all who went out to vote with a purpose of revolutionary change, we were able to win the House of Representatives. With this win, we are able to counteract and stop legislation that is purposefully intended to divide this country and oppress people amongst other things. Black women proved once again to be the backbone of this country as 92% of Black women rose to the challenge and voted in favor of Democrats, according to The Wall Street Journal. I would like to say thank you to those who voted and congratulations to all of the winners that contributed to the efforts of equitable change in this country. I want to highlight the accolades of a few amazing black women:
Jahana Hayes, who is the Representative-elect for the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 5th congressional district; Ayanna Pressley the first African-American woman from Massachusetts to serve in Congress; Lucy McBath Member-elect of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia’s 6th congressional district; Ilhan Omar who will represent the citizens of Minnesota and is one of the first Somali-American legislator to serve in the elected office in the United States; Lauren Underwood who is the first African-American women to represent her district in Illinois; Juliana Stratton who will serve as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and Letitia James the first African American woman nominated by a major party for statewide office in New York, and the Attorney General-elect. Congrats to the other women who ran but did not win and are still committed to serving the people and propelling forward with initiatives to make this a country we can all be proud of, Stacey Abrams that one is for you and thank you for your drive, commitment and the advocacy for justice you displayed for the people of Georgia. Also, thank you for the inspiration you have instilled in many. Stand for something or fall for anything may sound cliché but reigns true.
As the dust settles and the congratulatory bells stop ringing, I thought, what now? What’s next? Aware of the systemic oppression that has been embedded in our government and the false narratives that one race due to the color of their skin is better than all melanated hues, reality has set in. The fight is not over!!!!! DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT feel as though your work is done. The other day a friend sent an article that Pro-white supremacist flyers were found in Van Cortland Park, in Bronx, NY. The flyers urged Americans and Europeans to defend the area from Blacks and Muslims. I scrolled on my Instagram and I saw a photo of a man who proudly wore a confederate flag and a noose on his t-shirt while voting. I don’t think we have to guess who he was voting for and why. I realized then that things may get worse before it gets better, but I’m willing to die for a better future for the children of today. We have to continue the fight because voting was only the first step. This is the same fight for equity and basic human rights our ancestors fought for, this time around it is just infused with high technology and a narcissist for president. Our ancestors fought for us to get this far and we cannot stop now. We need to continue to encourage and support our youth, 35% of them stepped up and voted, this was the largest turn out in 25 years. We need to be more organized in grass-roots leadership and learn from what our ancestors did, our true history is our blueprint. We need to continue to speak up and speak out on the injustices and dedicate time to change. We can pat ourselves on the back for our small win during this great battle but the war is not over. Stay tuned and ready.
ONE MORE THING…
I must say this, I do not agree with every democratic political viewpoint and I don’t believe every republican stand’s behind the rhetoric that their representative is spreading. However when children are being taken from their parents; black and brown individuals are still being killed in the streets or hung in their backyards simply because of the color of their skin; or when women could lose the right to choose what happens to their bodies, you have to understand voting red does not mean the exact same thing today as it did before. Voting red means you are for the divide of this country and that is the wrong side to be on. Below are the stats by sex and race of how the voting turned out, which side are you on?
