What Do We Do Now? We Stay Wrapped In The American Flag.
Like many of you, my emotions have been riding on a roller coaster since Election Day. I’ve gone from disbelief to confusion to despair; from fear to anger. And I’ve probably consumed way too much commentary about what happened.
Every living being is a political analyst now, offering explanations and insight into why certain demographics and smaller groups within those demographics voted the way they did.
There’s a lot I don’t agree with, but one thing resonates with me—the chief reason why roughly 90 percent of Black women and 80 percent of Black men cast their votes for Kamala Harris—to protect democracy. That was our number one issue above all else, even if Harris’s policies didn’t wholly align with our personal values.
Our goal was to preserve America’s democratic government for everyone. Right now and for future generations; to honor our ancestors whose blood, sweat, and tears are baked into the American soil. In tribute to our parents and grandparents who lived under Jim Crow. For those who were killed because of Jim Crow; for those of us who love this country with the very same passion we have to conjure up to constantly fight for our humanity in this land.
We understood the stakes. Yet, here we are, bracing ourselves for the possibility that the incoming administration will do what they’ve said and succeed at implementing a White nationalist agenda influenced by big business and billionaires who came here as immigrants.
We have to reckon with what a whole lotta folks in this country voted for, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the high price of eggs. Miss me with that.
So once again, we’ll do what we’ve always done. This time though, in taking the battle forward, we cannot afford to leave our memory behind. The most profound message I heard this past week came from Dr. Jason Johnson, associate professor of politics and journalism at Morgan State University. If it turns out that the future of America will see the dismantling of our constitutional government, then we must begin to create our own personal archives, Johnson said.
“One of the first things that new regimes try to do is erase your
collective memory of what life was like before they came to power.”
—Dr. Jason Johnson
History tells us that the incoming administration will do its best to normalize the new order by banking on our failure to recall how life used to be. Our memory will be under attack, perhaps leaving us defenseless against misinformation and gaslighting.
Johnson encourages us to start collecting and backing up our writing, creative work, and photos. To gather news items that are relative to our everyday lives and local communities (screenshots will do). “Archiving our lived existence allows us to fight to maintain it,” Johnson explained.
Let me also mention the importance of collecting our family stories. Ya’ll know I believe this is something we should be doing anyway, but it seems even more urgent now. With the holiday season upon us, consider using family gatherings to record conversations with your elders so that you can document history through their eyes.
History is memory. Memory is a weapon.
“You cannot resist things that you don’t remember,” said Johnson. “If we do not [remember], it’s much easier for us to be told that whatever we’re experiencing now is how it’s always been.”
Come January 20, 2025, the day I will only refer to as Martin Luther King Jr. Day (the irony), the misinformation machine is coming for us all, cranking out alternative facts at record speed, intent on confusing us and sowing chaos and fear; hoping we’ll become exhausted and indifferent. Forgetful.
This time around, none of us, despite our color, will have the luxury of disengaging. We must be ready to wrap ourselves in the American flag, a living breathing tapestry. Each one of us has sewn stitches into its endless weaving, and we must all fight to keep it from unraveling.
Kelly’s debut book, THE WEATHER OFFICER, will be available in late 2024.
Grandma’s Glory by artist David Roby is available for sale as a print. The image used in this article has been floating around online since being featured in a video posted by CNN Anchor Victor Blackwell.