By Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr., Senior Columnist
As it should be, last week, we saw the peaceful transfer of power. The president-elect swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States.
Let him tell it; however, with his proclivity for prevarication and hyperbole, the election was a landslide, with a mandate. The truth is that 75,019,257 voters thought that Kamala Harris should be sworn in today as president. It’s also true that he won a free and fair election by a mere 1.5 percent margin of the popular vote. His mendacity aside, he is our nation’s 47th president.
In a recent post, I referenced the poem, “Man with a Hoe,” by Edwin Markham. It was part of the syllabus in Miss Frankie Berry’s 11th grade English class at Middleton High School, Tampa. Another classic poem on her syllabus was Rudyard Kipling’s “If.” Miss Berry insisted that we memorize it for recitation in front of the class.
I thought of “If” that morning as the 47th president of the US was due to be sworn in at noon. I must register my disappointment. I marveled with a sense of satisfaction at the number of no-shows and dignitaries who declined the invitation. He and his press secretary will, of course, embellish the numbers and declare that his Inauguration was the largest in the history of the world despite it being moved inside. He has a proclivity for hyperbole. I turned my television to my third viewing of Tyler Perry’s “The Six Triple Eight” and any documentary that focused on the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday. Some of my kin indicated they would “rather watch a documentary on African wildlife!”
In our minds, we might conjecture
IF POTUS had stepped aside sooner (though he now says he thinks he could have won)
IF men had laid aside their misogynistic proclivity for the moment in a voting booth to imagine or acknowledge the leadership capabilities of women
IF white women had voted in their own best and self-affirming interest
IF Black men and the nation had seen “The Six Triple Eight” movie ahead of the election
IF Pookie, Ray-Ray, and Ba-Bruh had decided not to sit this one out.
What an extraordinary, phenomenal day in history this would have been IF Vice President Harris had won the election. One can only imagine the outpouring of love, admiration, and appreciation for her and the nation that elected her, and the strength and goodwill in foreign policy engendered with other countries seeing how far the United States had come in 400 years, perhaps turning the corner on racism and misogyny with her election.
I think Dr. Freddie Haynes of Dallas, TX, first posited the idea of giving new meaning to the infamous KKK moniker. January 20 is the official national holiday honoring the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. VP Kamala Harris would be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. She would take the oath of office administered by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Thus, a new and acceptable reason for Black people, and people of goodwill, to speak proudly and loudly of the KKK: King, Kamala, Ketanji.
Weather permitting, can you imagine the kind of parade Kamala Harris would have had at her inauguration, IF she been elected president? Every HBCU band would have figured out how to get to Washington, DC. In deference to her alma mater, we (FAMU Marching 100) would allow the Howard University Bison band to march out first. All the others would march out alphabetically or by the order of their founding}. What a boon and stimulus to the economy that would have been.
Despite the significance of this particular history-making day, the flag would still be flown at half-staff in rightly deserved honor of the late POTUS and Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter. Alabama and Mississippi are also celebrating Robert E. Lee today.
For some, a plethora of celebrities and politicians, this is a day with a reason to celebrate “the greatest comeback of all time.” Then again, it is equally true that others are expressing the feeling of a profound loss of hope since the election. With evidence from the historic run of Hillary Clinton and now the defeat of Vice President Harris, many have conceded, “America will never elect a woman.” In the wisdom of the elders, “Never is a long time.” Hope must bloom again. Vigilance must be a weapon of choice; civic engagement is still a duty.
Begrudgingly, “Hail to the Chief.”
