On election night, Nov. 8, 2016, the entire world waited for the election results into the wee hours of the next morning. Black Republicans were overjoyed and repurposed. Black Democrats were dismayed and disappointed. Black Independents were challenged and confused. But interestingly some of our elders as well as many of our young activists that night and morning gained renewed strength to fight on for another day and era of progress.
We will continue to pick up our pens to write and speak truth to power. We will continue to publish in the grand tradition of motivating and informing the masses to be ever aware of what’s happening now. Every day brings teachable moments and lessons. The National Black Voter Poll, done by Howard University’s interdisciplinary group of faculty and student scholars and the NNPA turned out to be the most accurate when it came to the Black American vote across America.
Voting in our communities is not just a right, it is a historic and contemporary responsibility. As we prepare to enter 2017 with a new political regime in the White House, each of us should ask, What can I do to help improve the quality of life of my family and community?
How can I and those who I trust in the solidarity of the struggle for freedom and empowerment work together to increase the economic development of the communities in which we reside? How can I contribute to ensuring that our children receive the highest quality education pre-K-12 to college and post graduate? How can I help raise awareness about the healthcare issues that specifically impact our communities? How can I make a positive difference to make our world a better place?
We have come too far to even contemplate resigning, giving up or throwing-in the towel. President-Elect Donald Trump has been given the opportunity and responsibility of a lifetime. Will the United States go forward? Or will the nation go backward? The answers to these critical questions will not be limited to what President Trump will do or not do. Each of us will also contribute to what the future holds.
From my perspective, Black America must do what we have always done. Speak out. Stand up. Keep fighting for freedom, justice and equality with renewed vigor, faith and energy. Resilience is in our DNA.
My optimism is based on the enormous progress that we have made in our long movement for freedom in the U.S. and throughout the world. I refuse to join the chorus of the cynics who think erroneously that we are at that apocalyptic time when the world is about to end as a result of the elections last week. That is not the truth. We must keep struggling forward. As Maya Angelou reminded us, “We shall rise…. and we shall continue to rise”…again and again.
(Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is president and CEO of the NNPA and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org)
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