To say we are living in scary times is an understatement. We are living in uncertain times politically and economically. Our political institutions are being weakened and defunded. We see the Republican party abdicating their power to the president whole cloth. Members of Congress are voting against their own interests, defunding their own districts, and harming their own constituents in long- and short-term ways. The Supreme Court is setting precedents that hand power over to the president in ways we have never seen before. On top of all of this, masked men in plain clothes are terrorizing communities and kidnapping men, women, and children in broad daylight.
I know I have just listed a litany of things that should make us fearful about the future of this nation and democracy writ large. Although I am definitely concerned about the future of this country I call home, however, I am not afraid.
My ancestors helped build this great nation. Like many Black Americans, our lineage is here and the labors of our long-gone relatives are literally baked into the soil. The blood, sweat, tears, hopes, dreams, fears, faith, and so much more is here. I think of how strong my grandmother’s hands were and how mine may have the same vein structure, but they will never see the type of labor she put into building a life for herself and her family. That is my lineage and the type of strong family roots that bind me to this country.
Because of this, I know that as dark as these days may seem, they are not nearly as dark as the days my grandmother experienced. I also know that the beauty and curse of America is that everything that is done can also be undone.
This is a nation of progress and regress. It only changes for the good if we fight for it. If we find others willing to fight alongside us. If we remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. If we “stay woke and find others to wake them up.”
I am unsettled by what is happening to my country, but I am not afraid. There are more people who believe in the collective good than those who support the bad. We must remember our collective powers at the ballot box, in our communities, in our social organizations doing the work, and in teaching young people in this moment of all of the ways they can contribute now and in the future.
Now is the time to call on the strength of our ancestors, remember what they endured and how they were able to change not only their personal circumstances, but the circumstances of their communities, their states, this country, and for some, the fate of their respective home countries.
Be fearless.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.