Araesia King, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021
The issue with breaking through glass ceilings is that it is nearly impossible to remove the shards. The small pieces of glass stick with you—painful reminders of what you overcame. History has revealed that progress is trauma and revolution is not linear.
This is important to keep in mind while processing the recent election. Nothing compares to the sense of empowerment and visibility that I felt watching President Obama’s first inauguration. I was twelve years old. I remember standing in line with my mom at the elementary school near our house as she waited in line to cast her vote in the 2008 election. I felt hope that change was certain. Now, twelve years later, nothing compares to the pain and rage that I have felt during the Trump presidency.
Last week, news outlets discussed the upcoming release of Obama’s memoirs. The coverage focused on how Obama believes that his presidency in some ways paved the way for President Trump’s election. Some people in this country were terrified by Obama’s mere presence in the White House. That fear led them to support a man who campaigned on “Making America Great Again,” sowing seeds of bigotry and prejudice in the wake of that effort.
I desperately yearn to feel empowered by President-elect Biden’s win. My aunt texted me about what Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ presence in the White House means for women of color like me: “This is paving the way for you.” But the results of the election haven’t quelled the anger and pain Trump’s presidency has caused me. I am no longer twelve years old. In my short twenty-four years of life, I have lived long enough to see just how easy it is to unravel progress. To see just how determined people are to maintain their version of the status quo.
The most frustrating part of having spent my formative years under the Obama administration and then starting my professional career during the Trump presidency was witnessing the normalization of complacency. The reality is that the majority of Americans were unbothered and unaffected by both the Obama and Trump administrations. They were not interested in breaking through glass ceilings or “Making America Great Again.” That level of disinterest breeds the most dangerous form of apathy. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
Progress is not painless. The only hope is that there will be less pain as time goes on. There was a collective sigh released around the country on Saturday, November 7, 2020 after news outlets began to call the election in Biden’s favor. His win was mainly attributed to women of color around the country who mobilized their communities and inspired change. That day was the eye in the storm otherwise known as 2020. A moment of calm for many.
Entropy has returned as the election results have enraged the same people that Trump empowered. The country has come full circle. Biden will return to the White House with a country more divided than the day he left it. The possibility for progress over the next four years will be determined by the willingness of the American people to live in discomfort and reject the familiarity of complacency. Our battle scars from all the glass shards shattered on our journey to this critical moment in history are not only reminders of obstacles overcome. They are also symbols of strength and perseverance. Trophies collected from rocking the boat in pursuit of calmer waters. I urge my fellow 2021 graduates to keep this in mind as we assume the role of Atlas, bearing the weight of the world. History has its eyes on us. We have fought hard to get to where we are. Tend to your wounds and then keep climbing.