On the Election Results: The Ugly

By Tasha K

The data is in, and numbers don’t lie. 71 million Americans voted for comfortable whiteness and the oppression of others as the “sanctity of life.” Each of those votes was actually a vote for the radical racist rhetoric, a litany of lies, and ongoing bullying battles. Our country is still racist, Black lives still don’t matter, and some of you will continue to question why we call Trump racist in the first place. There is a lot of work to do. Though my hope has been that those 71 million folx voted for conservatism and not racism, we will never be sure. 

The call today is for the [white] church. While 70-80% of all folx of color groups voted for Biden, white Christians are still at the top of the list for supporting Trump in this election. My question has, and will continue to be: why? Perhaps this will take years for us to know, or maybe there will be an answer tomorrow, but Trump’s obvious racism was not a deciding factor. To me, this piece has been the most terrifying part as I continue to name that the church is not safe for all people. It is only safe for those who can navigate white supremacy. We have so much work to do with dismantling supremacy in the United States, in Christianity, in classrooms, and in governments—BUT we have to do the dismantling. Somehow, it is still okay for racist white teachers to teach our Black students, and white supremacist to sit comfortably in a church pew worshiping white Jesus. I am no longer angry about these facts or folx who will call them lies. Instead, I’m more saddened that I was personally duped for so long, embracing the anti-blackness of church folxs, teachers, friends, and family. There is so much work to do, and my hope is that you will continue to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Follow the movement of Black womxn, preachers of color, and perhaps that 45% of white womxn that did vote for Biden. I should be able to get a loan, keep my hair natural, walk through a store without being followed, pulled over without being shot, and speak freely about racism without being told “well not all of us”.

Will you work to be anti-racist? Or do you think the work is done or unnecessary? Let me tell you we are just getting started. Join us.