Six Days In
what a start to the new year.
I didn’t plan on this being the first post of 2021, but this was too much to miss.
Today, if heaven is real, John Lewis is watching his pastor and his intern win their Senate seat elections in Georgia.
Warnock has been the Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, since 2005. His platform was predicated on ‘fighting for quality, affordable health care, for the dignity of working people’. His win is historic for many reasons, including being the first Black Senator of Georgia, the first Black Democratic Senator from the South, and is one of ten Black Senators our country has ever had. His win also marks a known but sometimes forgotten fact- churches and pastors have historically always been on the side of social justice and the precipice of change.
You can learn more about his platform here: https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Jon Ossoff is a film producer and investigative journalist. To some, he’s more moderate than they would like. But his policies are competent and range in reforming everything from criminal justice to health care. His win is historic for the Jewish community. Not only will he be the youngest Democratic Senator since Biden nearly 5 decades ago, but he will also be the first Jewish Senator of Georgia and the first Democratic one from the South since the 1880s’.
You can learn more about his platform here: https://electjon.com/
The Democrats have the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. These next 2 years better be justice-filled. Either Democrats will finally revitalize itself and its promise for being the party of the Working Class, and for the protection of human rights, or it will finally expose itself for all its flaws and unwillingness to fight for the American people.
And of course, I must thank Black Women—as I do beyond elections cycles. They have proven that Red states can turn Blue—but it takes time and determination and fearless leadership. I am of course awed by Stacey Abrams and her selflessness in putting her political career on hold to mobilize her state. I am also grateful for women like LaTosha Brown of the Black Votes Matter Fund, Helen Butler who is the executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, Nse Ufot who is the CEO of the New Georgia Project, Deborah Scott of the Georgia Strategic Alliance for New Directions and Unified Policies, and Tamieka Atkins of ProGeorgia.
If it can be done in Georgia it can be done anywhere. So…..who is next? Texas?? N.C??
This could be the rise of the New South.
It seemed like the celebration didn’t last too long.
A few hours after the historic wins, a mob of pro-Trump supporters and white supremacists stormed the Capitol. Windows were smashed, people were killed, offices were vandalized. Officers were completely harassed. It was a
Coup: a sudden and decisive stroke of state policy; spec. a sudden and great change in the government carried out violently or illegally by the ruling power.
Sedition: Violent party strife; an instance of this, esp. a factious contest attended with rioting and disorder. A concerted movement to overthrow an established government; a revolt, rebellion, mutiny. Conduct or language inciting to rebellion against the constituted authority in a state.
Insurgence: The action of rising against authority; a rising, revolt.
Treason: The action of betraying; betrayal of the trust undertaken by or reposed in anyone; breach of faith, treacherous action, treachery.
It’s interesting. This summer as peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters went to their streets to demand justice and respect for Black Lives, they- we- were met with tear gas and assault. We were vilified for the destruction of property and for ‘disrespecting’ officers……and yet.
And yet, what is true must always come to the light.
It was never the property or the cops that mattered to the “All Lives Matter” camp. It was always that Black people had the audacity to demand the respect of their full humanity. It was that we dared to say enough.
This is exactly who America is and always has been. If we do not take this moment as a true reckoning and reflection, this won’t be the end of what we are seeing. The damn has burst. The streets are flooding.
This was steadily built over time. This wasn’t unprecedented. This was planed.
Of course, when I first learned about this coup in D.C, my heart started racing. What is happening to my country? How are the people of D.C? Are the Electoral College votes safe?
And then a tweet from Tamika Mallory: something along the lines of “Black people stay home, this is not your fight.”
I am reminded of how easy it is for Black people to feel deep empathy for the injustice of any kind, even injustice towards democracy. Ironically, the same democracy that has nothing for us in return. That this happened on the same day that Black women delivered the victory to the Democratic party is not an accident.
We all know that had that crowd been Black- instead of selfies and the rolling out of a red carpet, those Capitol steps would have been red by sundown. Or to quote a Chris Evans tweet: “Just think of the carnage had they not been white.” There would have been no need for a night shift.
But to see people still try to justify or compare this coup to the peaceful, civil resistance, that is protected by freedom of assembly—no matter how unsurprising it may be— it still hurt.
There is a lot to learn from this moment:
Possibly, the trauma of having to go through what thousands of high school students have to do across the country with active shooter drills, inspires politicians to be more supportive of progressive gun control.
Possibly, seeing white people scale up walls shows politicians that walls don’t work, and that we are in desperate need of immigration reform that centers around compassion, human rights, and justice.
Possibly, this shows that for all the money we spend on defense, the only currency you need is whiteness to walk into what should be one of the most secured buildings in our country. Imagine how those bloated defense funds could be used for education, poverty reduction, housing, and health care.
I know that the whole world is watching: everyone from the Presidents of Zimbabwe, Colombia, Ecuador, and France, the PMs of Canada, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, U.K, India, Australia, and Italy, and the FM of Scotland are just a few of the world leaders who put out statements condemning President Trump and his base.
So where do we go from here?
I don’t know if we are better than this moment but I know that we can be if we try hard enough.
Dear America, we have work to do. On January 20th, I hope all of us can hit the ground running.
Read more:
“Today’s Rampage at the Capitol, as It Happened”- The New York Times
“The Capitol Invaders Enjoyed the Privilege of Not Being Taken Seriously”- The New Yorker
“The Inaction of Capitol Police Was by Design”- The Atlantic
“The Inciter-in-Chief”- The New Yorker
“Americans Were Worried About the Wrong Threat”- The Atlantic
“The Whole Story in a Single Photo”- The Atlantic
“How Social Media Made the Trump Insurrection a Reality”- The New Yorker
cover picture from https://unsplash.com/@thematteroffood?utm_source=squarespace&medium=referral