It has been over one week since voters took to the polls to be heard in the 2018 Mid-Term Elections. Today, there are still states counting and recounting ballots in highly contested races. There is so much I could write about concerning this historic election, but today I’m choosing to focus on some “Big Mama Wisdom” to remind us of our next steps.
Andrew Gillum is an African-American man who is still attempting to be the first African-American Governor of the state of Florida. Florida is currently under a legally sanctioned automatic recount of votes triggered by the fact that the difference between the candidate's received ballots is .5% or less. On election night Gillum’s team projected that he would not win the election, consequently, Gillum made a very provocative concession speech. As he had throughout the campaign, he quoted his grandmother. To many his reliance on his grandmother’s wisdom seemed strange, but for many of us raised in working-class families with little economic privilege this felt very familiar. We spent so many hours sitting at the feet or around the table with grandmothers who cared for us while our parents worked at other people’s jobs that grandmothers’ words were deeply ingrained in us. Gillum told the story of how every school day his grandmother anointed his head with consecrated oil and admonished him with these words, “Go to school, mind your teachers, get your lessons, and one day bring that education home. Bring it home for your little brother and sister who don’t know what it is yet.” This midterm election placed in local, state, and federal government numerous leaders who will be the first to sit at the table of power. New Yorkers elected the youngest ever member to the U.S. House of Representatives. The first Latinx woman is headed to Congress to represent Texas. Colorado elected the first openly gay person to serve as Governor of any state in our Union. Harris County, Texas, the 4th largest county in the country, elected 17 African-American women to judgeships. These are just a sprinkling of the many firsts that happened on November 6, 2018. I hope each of these new decision makers will take to heart the words of Andrew Gillum’s grandmother when she sent him off to school. Each of them has been anointed by the votes of their constituents to consistently show-up to speak truth to power, to understand established systems, to learn how to use or disrupt systems, and share those lessons with those not sitting at the table. These new leaders have marked a path and are integral to preparing others to follow it. Their accomplishments of diversifying government cannot be a one time fluke but a new standard. Growing up as an African-American Catholic female, I was often the only person of color in my classroom, church, and extra-curricular activities. My grandmothers consistently reminded me that I was more than worthy to be in the places where I was the only, but they added to Gillum grandmother’s admonishment. They said, “Be better than the rest, work harder, study longer, and listen more. They expect you to be less, so you must prove that you are so much more.” As these new leaders take their rightfully earned seats at the table, I pray that they remember that the world is watching. Their character, words, and behavior must exude excellence and integrity. Many will be seeking flaws in order to destroy their status, influence, and power. Some will even make-up flaws. It is acutely critical to the future success of our democracy that the lives of these firsts withstand scrutiny and fabrications.
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AuthorRamona Dallum Lindsey is an artist, speaker and curious citizen who finds strength in the wisdom of her elders. Archives
February 2019
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