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What does it mean for
We can’t treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy. Like John, we have to give it all we have. Barack Obama in eulogizing the late Congressman John Robert Lewis I begin by off ering a sincere apology to my dear friend and publisher, Al McFarlane, for the delay in submitting my column on Kamala and Joe. The words describing “the way I see it” regarding our country and the world’s shocking, painful, and frightening state-of-aff airs along with the upcoming election just wouldn’t come together. When I thought I had at least a loose handle on my understanding and acceptance of ‘what is happening is really happening’, I would lose my grip again. Thankfully, I kept on writing. The Caribbean and the Gulf Coast are being hammered by tropical storms Marco and Laura in a onetwo (warm ocean water) punch, 48 hours apart amid a pandemic; fi res are blazing in California partly ignited by at least 12,000 lightning strikes; and even in Colorado and other southwestern locations, heavy smoke looms making morning exercise unhealthy. Food lines continue to stretch down crowded freeways, and household utility bills have escalated because children are home and the computer stays on. Moving truck companies have waiting lists because many successful real estate corporations and landlords have no concerns or compassion for desperate and hurting people who have lost their livelihoods and unemployment. A condescending postmaster tells congressional representatives he WILL NOT re-install mailboxes and sorting machines that would enhance convenient drop off locations for mail-in ballots. That’s really scary. Then there is the presence of another dangerous ‘visible enemy’ with a label of Kremlin; a new virus is attacking our children; and within a few months, an uncertain and potentially perilous winter having COVID19 and the seasonal fl u will land in our atmosphere simultaneously with no safe vaccine anticipated for months. Ugly? I’d say!! Join the club. Refuse to be overwhelmed, hopeless, and without a mustardseed faith.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the diff erence.
Putting the unmatched urgency of the upcoming election into perspective, I found myself fi ghting to get pass the thousands of Black and Latino men and women incarcerated . . . many innocent . . . on Kamala Harris’ former California Attorney General’s watch, and murdering white police offi cers walking free without being held accountable. I understood the “Top Cop” role when it came to parents and their truant off spring. I was in the classroom trenches for many years and often went looking for some of my students when family telephones were out of order. I fought their discouragement and tried to convince them they could overcome their academic defi ciencies, the dangers in their neighborhoods, and multiple hardships at home. “It’s not about either of them – Kamala or Joe, Mom,” my oldest child announced in an early morning chat. “Their history . . . what they’ve said . . . what they’ve done right or wrong, maybe unintentionally hurting others in the process . . . their losses . . . or their sacrifi ces. It’s not about any of that. It’about what Michelle Obama candidly declared during the viral Democratic National Convention. “We must VOTE like our life depends on it.” It won’t happen with apathic and complacent attitudes and actions. We have no time to decide whether we are going to exercise the right our ancestors many fought and died for. We cannot aff ord to be “TORN”. We must move on, uniting like we have never done before. Eight months ago, we were hearing the words ‘hoax’ and ‘conspiracy’ . . . that the virus was going away as fatalities continued to increase to now nearly 180,000 just in the U.S. Our VOTE is for all those who didn’t have to die. Our VOTE is for ‘all’ our innocent and deserving children who want to thrive in a high-quality academic environment, be challenged by great expectations, and believing in promising futures once the pandemic has softened its blows. There should be no underserved communities fi lled with children “at-risk” whose parents cannot fi nd training to qualify them for decent paying jobs and trades. Our VOTE is about fi ghting voter suppression and squelching a hatred so historically and deeply imbedded in the souls of torch barriers that even ‘they’ do not understand their own fear coated, blatantly mean, and cruel nature. It’s about Colin Kaepernick taking a knee to the grass on a football fi eld in front of millions around the world with a silent message - NO MORE. The killing and incarceration of innocent black and Latino men and women had to stop. The widening academic, technological, and wealth gaps had to close. Both had been that way far too long. There’s too much at stake – a democracy WE THE PEOPLE cannot allow to be destroyed by the ‘forces of wickedness’, as the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis warned. “We have the capacity for courage and an unbreakable resilience. We must embrace this time of unprecedented opportunity for a spiritual and moral awakening which will require truth, honesty, and a passion for what is right, fair, and just.” Kamala Harris and Joe Biden love this country enough to take on challenges like no others in modern times. We must support them “with all we have to give and pray for healing and victory. . . . . And Nothing but the Truth (pt. 2) – How an attack on democracy was allowed to fester and what we all can do. By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor
Continuing conversations surrounding issues impacting Black lives, “OWN Spotlight: Culture Connection & August 28th, Ava DuVernay & Rev. Sharpton,” which originally aired Friday, August 28 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET/PT on OWN, will stream for free on the Watch OWN app and the OWN Facebook and Youtube pages. The special features Oprah Winfrey as she speaks separately with both acclaimed director Ava DuVernay and the Rev. Al Sharpton regarding the historical context of August 28th and the signifi cance of the upcoming election, along with a special presentation of DuVernay’s short fi lm “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People.” During the special, Winfrey speaks with DuVernay about the work she is doing in support of social justice, how she uses history to inform her activism, and how imperative it is for everyone to vote in the upcoming election. Winfrey later discusses with Sharpton the connection of the ‘Get Off Our Necks’ Commitment March which took place on the same day as the historic March on Washington 57 years ago. Sharpton shares ways that everyone can show their support in this moment, reiterating his intention for the march is not about numbers but long-term impact. The interviews bookend DuVernay’s scripted short-fi lm entitled “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People,” starring Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland,
photo/Oprah Winfrey_OWN Network The special features Oprah Winfrey as she speaks separately with both acclaimed director Ava DuVernay and Rev. Al Sharpton regarding the historical context of August 28th and the signifi cance of the upcoming election, along with a special presentation of DuVernay’s short fi lm “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People.”
Michael Ealy and Glynn Turman. DuVernay uses a robust combination of both documentary and narrative techniques to transport viewers through six stunning historical moments that all actually occurred on the same day – August 28th – in various years. Written, produced and directed by DuVernay, “August 28” traverses a century of black progress, protest, passion and perseverance of African American people. The project gives historical perspective within the creative framework of one date that has had a profound eff ect on America including: the passing of The Slavery Abolition Act on August 28, 1833, the lynching of Emmett Till on August 28, 1955, the fi rst radio airplay from Motown Records on August 28, 1961 with The Marvelettes “Please Mr Postman,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech during the massive March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Hurricane Katrina making its tragic landfall on August 28, 2005 and then-Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the presidency on August 28, 2008. The fi lm was lensed by cinematographer Malik Sayeed and edited by Oscar nominee Spencer Averick. Tentime Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello composed the score. Paul Garnes produced, with co-producers Tilane Jones and Tammy Garnes. This special is part o f OWN’s overall OWN YOUR VOTE initiative, a bipartisan registration and get-out-thevote campaign partnering with national and local grassroots and voting rights organizations to provide tools and resources that will empower Black women to vote this November. Black women powerfully infl uence election outcomes, and OWN YOUR VOTE supports this group of voters to show up to the polls and help friends, family, and their community to do the same. Winfrey recently shared that OWN will grant November 3rd as a company holiday to ensure all employees have the time to vote and volunteer. “I challenge other companies to do the same because this might be the most important election o f our lives,” Winfrey said in her social post. “OWN Spotlight: Culture Connection & August 28th, Ava DuVernay & Rev. Sharpton” is produced by OWN. The executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery.
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