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While the country celebrates the victory of Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. and Kamala Harris (at least 76 million of Americans), we must now consider all of the work that has to be done to move the country forward. The “to-do” list of the president and vice president-elect is extensive, and this does not include the goals and visions that they have furnished for our nation while they campaigned. They have to clean up the mess of Donald Trump and his administration, which includes the toxic racial climate, the U.S. participation (or lack thereof) in the global community and the out of control coronavirus.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate groups have grown by 55% since Trump took office in 2017. Within this time span, we’ve also witnessed the continuum fatal shootings of Black folk by police officers, of which, according to Statista, is higher than any other ethnic group. By President Trump taking sides on this issue and showing more sympathy to officers than families who lost members, he has exacerbated the social division between law enforcement and the Black community. From the Charlottesville encounter where Heather Heyer was killed and the “very fine people of both sides” comment, to the “stand back and stand by” directive to the Proud Boys, the “shithole countries” comment, and the disregard and disparagement to the legacies of John Lewis and Elijah Cummings, we have felt the intense heat of overt racism that some thought were behind us. Even the entitled “Karen” situations, where whites felt legitimized to impose on Black folks in Black spaces, were coarse and amplified by racist rhetoric from the president and his administration.
The United States has been the embodiment of leadership throughout the ages, yet it surprised our global allies when we withdrew from the Paris Accord. 189 countries formally adopted the collective proposal while we sat on the sidelines with other nations that have not adopted the agreement — and this includes countries like Iran, Iraq, Turkey and South Sudan. We have withdrawn from the World Health Organization and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran Deal) that the U.S., Iran, China, Russia and other European nations worked on for so long to solidify. And we cannot forget the coronavirus. As of November 8, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. reported over 105,000 cases, closing in on a total of 10 million cases and close to 250,000 deaths.
Similar to Biden’s democratic predecessor, when former president Barack Obama took his position in 2009, we were dealing with the after effects of the market crash of September 2008, with the national unemployment rate above 7%, massive home foreclosures as a result of the housing bubble, job loss was in the millions, the loss of pensions and personal savings, the closure of large and municipal banks, and dealing with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not to mention, President Obama also felt obligated to capture and kill Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. All of this was left by Obama’s republican predecessor.
Well, here we are and now the work begins! To unite Americans and create racial harmony will not be an easy task. Racism as an ideology is not only a belief system but a practice, and there are some who are stuck in their antiquated ways. On a global platform, the work of reuniting the U.S. with allies and global initiatives will take time, perseverance and diplomacy. And to battle a pandemic that we all have not seen in our lifetimes, will take leadership, adherence to science and patience to control, or even eradicate, this virus. Fortunately, we have enough disinfectant and cleaning supplies for the Biden and Harris administration. In fact, all 76 million of us will help with the cleaning effort.
