November 7
One year ago today, Americans went to the polls and elected the most unqualified man in American history to be President of the United States. After waging a campaign grounded in racism and bullying cruelty, Trump was rewarded with the highest office in the land. In the immediate aftermath, puzzled prognosticators searched the ashes for clues as to the cause of this calamity. They were unwilling to face the obvious fact that 53% of white women chose racism over feminism, or that many Trump voters had a high enough income to be untroubled by “economic anxiety.” Journalists, academics, and some Democrats told us that if we just went to the Midwest and made a convincing case to displaced white workers who have been voting for Republicans since Ronald Reagan, we could win them back.
People of color knew better. We said that Trump won because he appealed to the racism and fear of displacement that accompanied demographic change. Trump verbalized and then normalized the ugly sentiments lurking in the hearts of far too many Americans. Immediately after the election, we saw a spike in anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Black harassment and vandalism. Then Army veteran Ricky John Best and student Taliesen Myrddin Namkai Meche were murdered when they intervened in a white supremacist’s harassment of two teenage girls of color. Then Lt. Richard Collins was murdered at the the University of Maryland by a student and member of the “alt-reich nation.” Then gleeful Nazis and white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia bearing torches and chanting ugly anti-Semitic and racist slogans. They brutalized De Andre Harris and murdered Heather Heyer.
Around the nation, Republicans surveyed the hatred and violence that erupted in the wake of Trump’s victory and saw… a path to victory. Ed Gillespie in Virginia and Kim Guadagno in New Jersey have run repugnant ads, hoping to ride into office on a wave of fear and hatred of Latino immigrants. The polls in Virginia show a close race with a large swath of undecided voters. If their approach prevails today, we will see it replicated around the country, cementing the power of white supremacists and putting real lives in danger.
VOTE TODAY!!!!
In New Jersey – Phil Murphy for Governor; Sheila Oliver for Lieutenant Governor
In Virginia – Ralph Northam for Governor, Justin Fairfax for Lieutenant Governor
In NYC – Bill DeBlasio for Mayor