Letter of the Day | Battle for the soul of the United States

THE EDITOR, Madam:

At around 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, I had a déjà vu moment when the news of United States (US) Vice-President Kamala Harris’ ‘shocking defeat’ hit me like a ton of bricks. As in 2016, when Hilary Clinton lost the presidential election, I was devastated. Why? As a child growing up in rural Jamaica, where it was believed that America was ‘the greatest country on earth’, I fell in love with the US. In 2012, I spent several months in New York and saw the ‘lived reality’ of many African Americans (Treyvon Martin had just been murdered). It was then that the scales fell from my eyes and I fell out of love with America, knowing Hollywood had sold me a lie in films such as How the West Was Won.

As I reflect on the knowledge that around 95 per cent of black women voted for Harris, I am reminded of Shirley Chisholm (the first African American woman to run for President). What a trailblazer! I am also conscious of the fact that many enslaved women (e.g., abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman) fought for freedom from tyranny in the US, especially in the Southern slaveholding states. I can hear Ray Charles singing Georgia on My Mind.

Looking ahead to the midterm elections in 2027, African American women (whose ancestors built the US with their blood, sweat and tears) should not allow other marginalised groups or charismatic faith leaders to dissuade them from exercising their democratic right to vote. I am also reminded of certain ‘tongue-speaking’ televangelists with their ‘prosperity ministries’, and those wolves in sheep’s clothing who oppress vulnerable black folk with their Euro-American views on ‘the sanctity of life’. Clearly, some lives on this wretched earth matter more than others!

As a womanist, I shall say nothing of a certain cohort of black men (roughly 20 per cent) in the US who refused to vote for Harris, putting the lives of their own daughters, sisters, wives and partners at risk (think reproductive rights), not to mention their own black elders (with health conditions) who require medication under the Affordable Care Act. Unlike the murder of George Floyd, I will not bat an eyelid the next time an unarmed African American man (albeit over 70 per cent voted for Harris) finds a knee on his neck, or is gunned down by an armed police officer for a minor offence.

To return to my early love of Hollywood films, I am reminded of Stephen Boyd and Sophia Loren in The Fall of the Roman Empire. Ahem! More importantly, given the short time Harris had to put her campaign together (105 days), it is interesting to see folk pointing the finger at her for having no policies. Poh! History will remember the ‘joy’ she brought to the Democratic Party in the battle for the soul of the United States.

VELMA MCCLYMONT