Victory is ours, but the struggle continues!
9th November 2020 · 0 Comments
All the votes have yet to be counted but it is clear, given any Trump miracle, that former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden will be the next president of the United States and Senator Kamala Harris ( D-Calif.) will be the first woman of color to become vice president of the U.S.
Biden’s victory belongs in large part to African-American voters, especially in Georgia, who flipped the once red state blue and tipped the win into Biden’s column, but also to liberal white voters who have embraced the fact that America is being more diverse by the decade and that the browning of America is inevitable.
We are witnessing the pushing back into the shadows of the Confederate mindset and racism that Donald J. Trump, the current occupant in the White House, brought into the glaring light. Political pundits admit the nation is divided, but as Jacob Johnson, political science professor at Morgan State University told his MSNBC cohorts, “Our nation has been divided since African Americans landed on American shores in 1619. Laws can be changed but hearts not so much.”
Political analysts say Trump is exploiting white grievance and resentment because his white supporters feel they are “the forgotten people.” It’s truly mind-boggling that Trump supporters have convinced themselves that they have grievances and resentments, when if any groups should be aggrieved, it should be Black and brown Americans. Trump’s use of reverse psychology and flat out lies has worn thin and his goals to continue to whip up white grievances is transparent.
Trump and his minions will continue to segregate this country by race in upcoming elections by supporting far-right wing candidates. They will also continue to tear down norms and institutions, even after Trump is out of the Oval Office. There have been hints that Donald Trump Sr. or Donald Trump Jr. may run for president in 2024.
Trumpism, which we recognize as old time racism, is here to stay and Republican gridlock and greed is here to stay. And we know that Trump’s minions in the GOP, the far-right wing members like Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott, Ted Cruz and others will continue to block democratic legislation.
For those reasons and for the sake of democracy, justice and equality, Black and brown Americans must wage war against racial injustice, economic inequality, police brutality, redlining and environmental racism, and step up the fight for racial and economic justice, gun reform, criminal justice reform, equal education, affordable housing, affordable healthcare, judicial reform, fair redistricting and distribution of the wealth and a living wage.
Biden is a centrist and a moderate but we can take comfort in knowing progressives, such as Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the sisters on Capitol Hill, will bring the noise and necessary pressure to bear to get meaningful legislation passed that impacts “we the people,” and not just the wealthy. If the democrats and the Biden administration fail to meet the needs of Americans who make up the popular vote, they may lose seats and the White House in 2024.
From all indications, it may be a while before the dust settles and Biden is declared president-elect. Trump’s supporters are suing in the courts and Georgia is certainly headed for a recount, at press time, unless Biden widens the win.
And clearly, even as a lame duck, Trump has a lot of time to do major damage with the help of his Republican sycophants.
Even so, the work that is being done by activists locally and nationally is encouraging. The NAACP-LDF continues to fight against injustice. Most recently, the cadre of lawyers are committed to protecting voting rights, reforming the criminal justice system, achieving education equity, ensuring economic justice, and fighting against racial injustice. A new initiative of the LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute, the Voting Rights Defender (“VRD”) project, broadened LDF’s monitoring and tracking of voter suppression efforts in targeted jurisdictions and identified suppression measures (e.g. polling place changes, voter purges, local practices that result in long waits to vote).
The NAACP-LDF has been active in Louisiana throughout its history. Earlier this year, it sued Terrebonne Parish and the State of Louisiana to secure a single-member voting district in Terrebonne Parish, which has five judges elected at-large, and they are all white. In August 2020, the LDF filed a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s voting requirement for the November and December elections.
Several local grassroots groups are continuing the marathon battle over civil rights and human rights. During this era of COVID-19 grassroots groups are continuing to organize and work via Zoom meetings, email campaigns, teleconferences and through social media outlets.
Justice and Beyond Justice and Beyond is a nine-year-old, multiracial open table coalition of justice seeking organizations aimed at amplifying voices of color. J&B’s weekly pillar’s planning meeting is Tuesdays at noon via Zoom. The coalition recently published a Resource Manual for people wanting to join the fight for justice.
If you want to join the fight to make Sewerage and Water Board be just and fair to citizens of New Orleans, contact A Community Voice, located at 2221 St. Claude Ave., or call 504-941-2852.
If your organization would like training on building power and fighting racism, contact: The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: www.pisab.org or 504-301-9292.
If you would like to fight Entergy’s bad practices & support 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 in N.O., please contact the Alliance for Affordable Energy: (504) 208-9761 or go to www.all4energy.org.
If you are a young person who wants to tackle the climate crisis and inequality with a just and green economy, please contact Sunrise Movement New Orleans: sunriseneworleans@gmail.com or online at www.facebook.com/sunriseneworleans.
If your family is affected by youth incarceration and needs assistance, please contact Ubuntu Village: (504) 267-4294 or go to: ubuntuvil-lagenola.org.
If you are interested in joining Justice and Beyond, call Reverend Gregory Manning at (913) 940-5713 or email the coalition at justiceandbe-yondno@gmail.com.
Several other grassroots organizations are working toward specific goals:
The New Orleans Peoples Assembly Organizing Committee has been working with the Residents of Gordon Plaza for relocation funding, women’s rights and workers rights.
VOTE (Voices of the Experienced) is made up of a growing network of currently incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people (FIP) and their loved ones. The nonprofit’s primary focus is criminal justice reform, building power locally, statewide and nationally, and they address crime survivors’ rights; employment rights; housing rights; medical rights and voting rights relative to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice is a coalition of groups from across Louisiana whose mission is to organize in impacted communities, educate and turn out voters, and fight for policies that create a more equitable and just system in Louisiana. They recently joined other groups to offer rides to the polls. Among the group’s upcoming agenda items is combating gerrymandering and securing a fair redistricting map.
There are also groups fighting for a $15 minimum wage, fair housing and educational equity.
The point we are making in listing these grassroots organizations is that “If it is to be, it’s up to we.”
There are no knights in shining armor riding to our rescue or elected officials who could but won’t improve our quality of life.
Although we are owed much for the 401 years we spent in bondage and legalized American Apartheid, we know there are no reparations checks in the mail. Real talk. The reality in Black and Brown communities is that we must fight for every ounce of equity due to us. That means we must apply political pressure on those we elected to represent us, call those out who betray us, and hold everyone who holds public office accountable for doing what they were elected to do: public service.
This article originally published in the November 9, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
