The Power is in You! The power you embody is an inner strength that influences others around you. I watched the power of African Americans as we encouraged each other to vote. I’ve been voting since I was eighteen, but this is the first time I experienced the results of what coming together for a common purpose looks like and this year the goal of many was to vote for change and for a new administration. I observed African Americans walking the streets, knocking on doors, conducting voter drives, traveling to different cities, creating rap videos, and speaking via social media. All your efforts paid off and we now have elected the President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. While I’ve always believed that neither party is truly for us, it seems the Democrats prevailed. My spirit was happy to see the first woman of color as Vice President-Elect, the idea of becoming who you want to be. I never thought I would see the day when a woman of color would hold such a high office, but as I watched all of the celebrating in the streets and the jubilation in the eyes of African Americans, I thought to myself now what. Many put in work to make sure we voted, but now that we voted what is the next step. I believe voting is important. My ancestors, your ancestors fought, bled, and died to make sure we could step into the poll and cast our ballot. I get nervous thinking about the now. We will receive promises from the new administration, and they may or may not come through. My question to you is what you are going to do. Are you going to continue to be satisfied with the crumbs that fall off the table or are you going to demand our voices be heard? Are you going to take your seat at the table? Or let someone who isn’t for us take a seat. Are we going to strategize to make sure those in office are for us? I hope so. It would be a shame to collectively work so hard to fall short because we became satisfied with promises. There is still work to do after the vote. There are voices that still need to be heard after the vote. There is still strategizing to do after the vote. There is change that needs to take place after the vote. Racism will still exist, police brutality will still be a reality, and the privilege class will still look at us as if we don’t belong. The work that needs to be done is far from over. Our time has come, and our time is now. So, what are you going to do to make sure that this time we get everything that is due to us? Now isn’t the time to sleep, now is the time to stay vigilant, woke, and ready to act at any time to make sure our voices are heard and never silenced again. Dwana Bradley Editor in Chief The Urban Experience Magazine The URBAN EXPERIENCE | 2020 7
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