When I was a kid visiting my grandparents in Yulee, Florida, my grandfather would spend his retirement days sitting on the porch watching the day go by. There would be the occasional pick-up truck that would stop along their dirt road, and someone would stop and lean out the window and have a chat with my grandpa. They’d always ask him how he was doing and he’d often reply, “I can’t call it. I can’t call it.” I never fully understood what that meant until now.
As a man who lived through the tail end of Jim Crow and mandated segregation in the U.S. south, a lack of educational and occupational opportunities just because he was Black, and blatant racism in almost every corner of his life, he understood the beauty and promise of America as he watched his three daughters move north, attain jobs never available to him, and travel the world in ways he could not have imagined. He also saw the brutality and cruelty of anti-Black racism on a near-daily basis. Therefore, when he said he couldn’t call it, he meant it.
This country continues to show her contradictions. On the one hand, there are so many inspiring stories of communities coming together to protect and feed their neighbors during ICE invasions and crackdowns in their neighborhoods. We are seeing people put their bodies on the line in pursuit of democracy and a better nation. However, we also see people in this country willing to subjugate men, women, and even children, simply because they “look like an immigrant.” We are seeing corruption and cover-ups at the highest levels of government and a callous disregard for the rule of law, humanity, dignity, and the American constitution.
This is the first time in my life I can say, as a Black woman and as a political science professor, I can’t call it. I pray the modern day norms that have held this country together for the last 60 years continue to hold. I pray we continue to have elections. I pray the Republican party breaks itself free of the grip of the president and remembers it is in place to serve the American people and not one man. I truly hope more citizens get involved in the pursuit of their own democracy — that is, voting out ancient electeds who are not doing their jobs and supporting candidates who are willing and able to do the work.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I will continue to do my part and work toward making this country a more welcoming place for all. Even in the face of uncertainty, we must be brave and remember that this struggle is a marathon and not a sprint.
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.