I won't let nobody turn me around

One Year After The Election, I Won't Let Nobody Turn Me Around Adam Russell Taylor I remember the flood of emotions I felt almost a year ago when I heard that the major news networks were calling the 2020 election results: overwhelming relief and renewed hope. Far beyond a victory for then-to-become President Joe Biden, it felt like a victory for our democracy — and an imperative to resuscitate, revitalize, and reinvent that democracy. Fast forward a year: I’m filled with a festering weariness and escalating heartache. My wife has challenged me to share more about my personal story and perspective, which is firmly rooted in my experience as an African American husband, father, and ordained minister. And with that lens, I want to be vulnerable: I am filled with righteous anger by the state of our union. I’m also deeply weary of the gaslighting — of being told that the growing attacks on our democracy are overblown or simply political theater. I am tired because I have seen my Black siblings bear the disproportionate brunt of violence, COVID-19 infections and deaths, poverty, discriminatory laws and practices, inequity in schools, health care, and housing. The list could go on. One year ago, Black voters played a decisive role in voting out a president who didn’t believe that their lives fully mattered and who posed an existential threat to our nation’s democracy. We showed up. With our votes, we called for the end to systemic racism, including in the policing and criminal justice system. We called for real and lasting protections to voting rights and for economic policies that prioritize racial justice and equity. We called for what many have referred to as a third reconstruction. But what have we heard in the year since then? READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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