Biden won. So, now what?

On the morning of Saturday, November 7, 2020, the announcement finally came: Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States, concluding a long, exhausting election week and defeating Donald Trump. There will not be another four years of Donald Trump in the White House.

For many across the US, this is cause for celebration. Tireless efforts from so many organizers led to the largest number of voters to ever turn out for a presidential election in US history. This organizing led to the incumbent president failing to win a second term, which is a rare feat. 

So it might be tempting to feel like the fight has been won. It might be tempting to believe racial and social injustice has been stomped out. After all, Trump has instituted clear racist policies in the form of Muslim bans, children and parents separated at the Mexican border, and detaining those children in cages. The list is even longer for racist statements Trump has made. So this election can feel like a huge victory, in which the face of racism has been defeated.

It’s important for us to take a collective pause and understand the lessons that the Trump administration has taught us. People have been aware of policies from the Trump administration due to the overt nature of the “isms” present in language and policies. Trump has not tried to mask how he feels about many things, and this comes out in hateful rhetoric and policies informed by bias. However, if we begin to believe that Trump is the most racist president ever or the only racist president the US has had, many issues arise. First, referring to him as a racist shifts the conversation to an individual instead of looking at the systems present in our country and how Trump’s policies have maintained them rather than created them. Ripple Consulting recognizes racism on a systemic level where misuse of power across systems and racial prejudice are both at play. Zeroing in on Trump as a “racist” only captures the race prejudice piece and again fails to recognize racism beyond him as an individual. Additionally, if we believe that Trump is the most racist president we’ve ever had, this creates the false illusion that racism ends with him leaving the White House. It also creates the false assumption that justice has won, and we can return to a country with “freedom and justice for all” and where everyone is judged on equal playing fields.

This is simply not true. Trump is not the first president to perpetuate systemic racism and injustice. He’s not the worst, and he will not be the last. Much of Trump’s rhetoric was borrowed from former president Andrew Jackson, who was responsible for the genocide of millions of indigenous peoples. Contrary to popular belief, Abraham Lincoln did not campaign on a platform of abolition, and he only supported the end of slavery in order to preserve the union, not because he saw the humanity of the black people enslaved or saw them equal to himself. In more recent history, Bill Clinton perpetuated harsh law and order rhetoric and instituted the “three strikes” policy, which led to the disenfranchisement and mass incarceration of millions of black men. Many of these policies and practices remain in place across the country today. And finally, Barack Obama earned the nickname “deporter in chief,” during his first term due to the number of people deported by his strict immigration policies.

Therefore,  it’s important to not lose vigilance because of Biden and Harris taking office. And we need to see Trump’s presidency for what it was: an unveiling of many beliefs and unjust systems that have always been at play within the US context. Both Republican and Democrat administrations have developed and maintained systemic racism and other injustices. Systemic racism has been so baked into our country’s fabric that historically both parties have contributed to perpetuating systemic racism. Thus, systemic racism is not a political party issue but a U.S value issue around upholding the structure of white supremacy. This value issue will persist if we don’t stay informed and hold our elected officials accountable to changing these systems.

So what does this mean? Can we still celebrate some progress but also remain committed to further progress? Can we take a collective pause to acknowledge the significant organizing efforts made for the presidential election and other elections across the nation and take a moment to rest? Can we celebrate the fact that Kamala Harris will become not only the first female vice president but also the first woman of color? I think we must. For if we don’t recognize where we’re coming from, we don’t see where we’re going in the appropriate context. So let’s take a pause. Rest. And then get right back at it.

How do we do this? First, let’s stay involved. Let’s not let another politician spouting blatantly hateful rhetoric be the thing that snaps us back awake and into paying attention. So remain informed. What unjust policies and practices are taking place within your state, your county, your city? Who are your elected local officials? What does it look like to hold them accountable so in turn officials at higher levels of government can be held accountable? What does long term organizing look like in your sphere of influence?

During this election, a lot of eyes have been on the state of Georgia. Biden won Georgia, a state a Democrat hasn’t won in 28 years (CNN). This can be attributed to significant organizing efforts of Stacey Abrams and the New Georgia Project. Abrams used a loss to catapult her to this, after she ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and lost. Abrams lost that election by 55,000 votes, but nearly 670,000 votes were suppressed by her opponent, Brian Kemp. Recognizing this injustice, Abrams vowed to fight voter suppression in her state and others. With the New Georgia Project, Abrams helped register 800,000 new voters in Georgia, mostly in communities of color.

In an interview with CBS, Abrams said, "We changed not only the trajectory of Georgia, we changed the trajectory of the nation. Because our combined power show that progress is not only possible, it is inevitable."

She now turns her efforts to the two Georgia senate runoff races, with elections occurring in January 2021. These elections will decide who controls the senate for Biden’s presidential term. Abrams is hopeful, which can compel hope in all of us. In speaking of the January senate runoff races, she said, "People will do almost anything when they know success is likely. It is the actual thing that can change the future. And I believe they'll show up." (CBS)

So let’s show up. The fight has only just begun.