Kamala Harris’ historic run for president energizes millions of women, people of color | Opinion

To say we are living in an exciting time in America is extremely understated.

First, there was the debate-gone-wrong between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Only weeks later, there was the failed attempt on the former president’s life, leading to the resignation Tuesday of Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service.

And while my head was still reeling, President Biden announced Sunday he was dropping out of the presidential race. Then, almost in the next breath, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

Harris hit the ground running, raising a staggering $81 million in her first 24 hours as candidate.

While I appreciate and respect President Biden as a man of principles and integrity, I admire him even more for his decision to back out of the presidential race. He knows that America is broken and needs to heal. People — even some in his own party — were telling him he needed to bow out.

For a while, President Biden stood firm; he took hold of his old fighting spirit and vowed to stay in the race. I don’t know when it happened or how, but I believe that after a lot of soul-searching about what is best for America, President Biden took the high road and bowed out gracefully.

It couldn’t have been an easy decision. President Biden loves the people of America and wanted desperately to help heal the wrongs tearing our country apart.

Yet, he knew that sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do. But people of good morals and integrity — I believe that includes President Biden — will do the right thing. He took the high road because he knew that staying in the race would further widen the gap between the American people.

I don’t know about you, but because Mr. Biden did what he felt was right for all America, my respect for him has grown considerably.

The road ahead is questionable. Yet, I feel a sense of hope and pride that is akin to how I felt when the late New York Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, in 1972, had the audacity to be the first Black woman to run for president of the United States.

She knew she didn’t have a chance at winning. I knew it. And those of you who were around at that time, knew it too.

Chisholm paid no attention to the naysayers. She knew there wouldn’t be a seat for her at “the table.” Yet, she was courageous enough to bring her own symbolic folding chair; she stepped into the race. By doing so, she gave courage, and hope, to millions of women and Black Americans.

So much so, that not too many years later, a Black man — Barack Obama — was elected in 2008 to the nation’s highest office — the president of the United States of America. He became the nation’s 44th president when he was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2009, and it happened in my lifetime.

So, yes, these are exciting, as well as trying times in America. We were awed when Kamala Harris became the first woman of color to be chosen as Mr. Biden’s running mate. Here was a woman who had graduated from Howard University in Washington, one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

We, Blacks especially, were simply besides ourselves. Black women took to wearing pearls — our power pearls — to show our solidarity with Kamala.

But, again, there were a lot of naysayers. Biden could not win with a woman of color as his running mate, they said. But, as a team, they kept on running.

America watched with anticipation on Election Night as the votes were tallied. Then came the long-awaited announcement: The Biden-Harris ticket had won the election.

It was a new day in America.

But not everyone accepted the decision of the 81.2 million Americans who voted for Biden and Harris, securing 306 electoral votes in the process, compared with Trump’s 74.2 million votes and 232 electoral votes.

Led by former President Trump, ugly racism and blatant lies about the election being stolen started seeping out of the cracks of the nation’s foundation.

The Lie of a stolen election got so bad that on Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify the election. Police officers were beaten, the Capitol was desecrated and five people died in the immediate aftermath, including a Capitol Police officer. Many others were injured, including 174 police officers.

During the attack, members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence were whisked away to safe rooms before returning to the Capitol to certify the election.

To this day, as another presidential election looms, The Lie is still being perpetrated by Trump and his MAGA crowd.

And, yet, there is hope.

The hope comes from knowing that change can come peacefully to America. The hope comes, too, with Vice President Kamala Harris, an accomplished former prosecutor, U.S. senator and current vice president who is seeking to become president of the United States of America.

We don’t know what will happen in the days leading up to the election. But, as for me, I will keep hope alive and I will continue to pray for peace, for the people of America to come together.

This is my hope. This is my prayer.