On the 2020 Presidential Election
As I am writing this, I can barely keep my eyes open.
Despite my love for an early morning run and the reading time I carve out before my feet hit the ground, I have begun to dread waking up. Not because I am tired, but because I am afraid of what news I’ll wake up to. As soon as I wake up, I usually turn over and grab the book I fell asleep to the night before. But because of election week, I have been grabbing my phone instead.
By the time you all read this, election week will be long over. But Trump has yet to concede, and Biden-Harris are building their administration with half of the country refusing to acknowledge their win.
Where the hell do I live?
America is full of contradictions, human rights violations, and dark histories that continue to harm people today. But our elections tend to bring together a consensus. Even if you aren’t privy to the candidate who won, you find it in you to suck it up and move on. In fact, concession speeches (which aren’t necessary, but historically are a courtesy) have been some of the most beautiful orations we have documented.
This was my first presidential election to vote in. And I don’t know how to feel just yet. As someone who thoroughly enjoys politics and foreign policy, and governance, this season should have been exciting to pay attention to. But instead, I couldn’t even show up for my classes.
I keep thinking about the three big things: our wins, our losses, and our future.
Our Wins
Kamala Harris: I have to state the obvious. That America has it’s first Black, Indian, and woman as Vice President. How incredible is that? A daughter of immigrants. The poetry—the irony of her win, after an administration that showered in its disdain for people of color and immigration—insane.
It is not impossible to turn red states blue. According to the Associated Press, Biden winning Arizona made him the second Democratic presidential candidate since 1948 to win the longtime Republican stronghold. We must say thank you to the Native and First People organizers who showed up for our democracy— the same democracy that sometimes completely disregards their humanity. Biden winning Arizona is also not terribly surprising given Trump’s long record of disrespecting John McCain. He also won back key battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Georgia is in the spotlight. Stacy Abrams, and advocates such as Nsé Ufot, Helen Butler, Deborah Scott, and Tamieka Atkins, to name a few, make up a long list of Black women who have been overlooked in sustaining America’s democracy through their organizing work. They are the true winners of this election, saving this country from itself once again and finally turning the state Blue for the first time since 1992. Black women are the backbone of America. This statement has never been truer.
Michele Rayner-Goolsby made history by being the first Black queer woman to win a Florida legislature seat (District 70). She is the Founder and Principal Attorney at Civil Liberty Law.
Jabari Brisport made history as the first Black, gay, vegan, public school teacher elected to the New York State Senate (District 25).
Shervin Jones makes history as Florida’s first openly LGBTQ+ state senator (District 35).
California voters passed Proposition 17, restoring voting rights for people who were formerly incarcerated.
In L.A County, voters passed Measure J, which ensures that the county designates at least 10% of its general funds annually to community-based and non-carceral programs and services.
In Oregon, voters passed Measure 110, decriminalizing personal use of all drugs and will invest millions in treatment instead of criminalization and incarceration. How fucking cool is that?
Across the country, in states such as New Jersey and South Dakota, voters made their voices heard in demanding that their state prioritizes public health and safety and decriminalizing marijuana. So did Arizona and Montana.
Everywhere from Columbus, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and other cities approved measures to expand police accountability, and it will be interesting to follow up on these cities later.
Abby Philips was definitely a winner. “Not only would Black women put Joe Biden in the White House,” Ms. Phillip said on air, predicting the finish, “but they would also put a Black woman in the White House as well.” And while “Donald Trump’s political career began with the racist birther lie,” she continued, “it may very well end with a Black woman in the White House.”
George Gascon, a death penalty opponent, was elected as District Attorney of Georgia, who ran on his dedication to re-sentence those on death row.
Stephanie Byers won her election for the House of Representatives for Kansas, making her the first openly transgender official elected in the state and the first Native trans person elected to any state legislature.
John Hickenlooper flipped Colorado's Senate seat for Democrats.
In Miami-Dade County, Florida’s most populous county, a democrat- Daniella Levine Cava, was elected as Mayor.
Mauree Turner became the first Muslim state lawmaker in Oklahoma, who also identifies as queer and non-binary.
Cori Bush won her congress seat in Missouri, making her the first Black woman to do so.
Voters in Colorado defeated Proposition 115, rejecting the ballot measure that would ban abortion later in pregnancy.
Mississippi voters adopted a new flag, rejecting its confederate history.
Nebraska voted to stop predatory payday lending.
Sarah McBride is the nation’s highest-ranking transgender elected official, holding senate for Delaware.
Roy Cooper. That’s it. Roy fucking Cooper.
2. Our Losses
This was a grossly tight race, and it should have been a landslide. Trump’s administration emboldened our ugliness and ushered hatred to thrive in the light. And yet, after four years, some people felt comfortable voting for him again. They were okay with four more years. The violence, the vitriol, the hate—none of it mattered to them.
Who is a Trump supporter? And why? Annie Lowery, one of my favorite writers for the Atlantic, recently wrote an article detailing the economic reasons why the election was so narrow.
For many people, we celebrated that Donald Trump is out of office. Not because Joe Biden won. That is a clear distinction, and it leaves our country in a unique place. Of course, we will hold the Biden-Harris ticket accountable, but what does it mean that after a summer of protesting for Black Lives, that we elect two people who have been all too comfortable giving their support to the very carceral system we are trying to dismantle? The alternative isn’t appealing.
Joe Biden was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and largely wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and helped guide it to President Clinton’s desk, which received bipartisan support at the time. It has been criticized for some of its provisions, such as mandatory minimum sentencing, and its impact on mass incarceration. Biden has said countless times that he didn’t support everything in the bill but needed to compromise to help reduce violence in communities (by increasing police officer presence) and put forward the Violence Against Women Act and the assault weapon ban. The bill did not start or generate mass incarceration, but many critics confidently say the bill exacerbated it.
Kamala Harris’s record also has received major criticism. She has said countless times that it’s important that we re-imagine public safety in America and that she became a prosecutor so that she could change the system from the inside (when I hear statements like this, I always hear Audre Lorde: the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house). There is a question I think many people are asking themselves: it’s easy for anyone to reinvent themselves and quickly adopt a progressive agenda simply because the climate of our country is changing, but how much of that is real? What will come to light in the next four years?
What is wrong with polling? It has seemed to miss the mark for both previous presidential elections along with others across the country. There is actually evidence that suggests it was worse this year than in 2016. You can read more about polling here and here.
And the electoral college? Well, you already know.
3. Our Future
“I speak of the city that dreams us all, that all of us build and unbuild as we dream, the city we all dream, that relentlessly changes while we dream it, the city that wakes every hundred years and looks at itself in the mirror of a word and doesn’t recognize itself and goes back to sleep.”
In case you are wondering, I am optimistic and idealistic about the future. And not because of our new President. In fact, I am hopeful about the complete opposite. I am hopeful about what is happening on the ground. We witnessed community members show up and show out for each other during revolutionary marches and movements across the country this summer. The change we want to see happens in our neighborhoods, in our community centers, in our schools, in our outdoor spaces, in our homes. It starts with us.
We need you to get to work. Yes, you. We can not unify without public service. Without teachers, pro bono lawyers, community center directors, gardeners, health workers, etc. It is far too easy to live in this country and go your entire life without ever interacting with people who look differently, speak different languages, pray to a different god, and love differently than you do. But a commitment to public service and community empowerment is a dedication to bridging those gaps, acknowledging, respecting, and uplifting our differences while working towards a new future. One where the center will hold. One where human rights, justice, and systems of emergence are at the foundation.
Public service gives us a framework in which we can work through complex and civic issues. So, when you hear the phrase, a call to serve, don’t just think about serving in the military. That is one version of service. Instead, think about your call to serve in your community. It takes just as much discipline and selflessness.
Elections don’t do enough. But together, we can build something that lasts.
Dec. 28th edit: A Tale of Two Elections