Fawn Walker-Montgomery: The election is over: Now what?

With the presidential election ending, I wanted to once again address the topic of voting. I’m sure you’ve heard the comments: “the election is over, now what?” or “I feel so defeated,” etc. I want to emphasize that all these responses are valid. We should let people feel what they feel; that’s how people learn and unlearn things. You can’t learn what you haven’t felt. That said, what comes after you feel? For me, it begins with taking a breath, then mobilizing, organizing, and yes, resting. Additionally, pausing to assess how White supremacy may have affect­ed our decision-making is important. In my previous columns, I have high­lighted this and other pitfalls of White supremacy that Black people fall into. This is especially true during election season, as electoral politics has become particularly triggering for the Black community. From fearmongering to the misuse of our ancestors through voter shaming, Black people internalize this, leading to urgency, a focus on quantity over quality, and either/or thinking—all principles of White supremacy. During this election cycle, moving in urgency left little room to ask who was not at the table. National organizations rushed without including local organiz­ers on the ground. In addition, organiz­ers had...