I wrote a column last month, Two More Bridges to Cross: Racial and Gender Bias in the 2024 Presidential Election, which focused on racism and sexism as the two greatest obstacles facing Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to be elected as the 47th President of the United States. Racism and sexism served as two of the essential explanations for why Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were tied going into last night's election given the blatant and obvious differences in the quality and character of the two candidates.
Let's be clear, those were among the two reasons why this nation elected Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. It was not competence or character that prevailed last night as I argued in my October 2nd post. It was a demonstration of America's original and continuing sins; racism and sexism. An enormously capable black woman lost to a rapidly aging, barely coherent, frequently failed businessman who is facing multiple charges of sexual assault. He is a white male who clearly revealed his racism and sexism throughout the campaign season ranging from his false claim of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, to the hate-filled rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to his reference to Nancy Pelosi as a "b...h."
Racism and sexism are not limited to Donald Trump alone. They are at work in the values of the billionaires like Elon Musk who largely funded his campaign, as well as the billionaires that funded the U.S. Senate campaigns in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Ohio. They have even used their billions to heap favors on members of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Let's face it, the United States is no longer a true democracy. Given the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, this country has become a government of, by, and for enormously wealthy white males who are able to donate enormous amounts of money anonymously into political campaigns. They are literally buying their preferred country, using their billions to select and fund candidates who will shape policies that reveal that racism and sexism are central to their core values.
This is how the United States began in 1787 with rich white males on top and women and ethnic minorities in the margins. Enslaved persons were counted as 3/5ths of a person, Native Americans were not counted at all, and white women were not allowed to vote until 1920. These groups were the original "silent majority."
When will women who voted for Trump over Harris realize that this country has repeatedly passed over or refused to support female candidates for the presidency? Women have been elected as heads of state in over thirty nations around the world, including our allies Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Israel, and now in Mexico.
Isn't it strange that the United States is not on that list? In the 237-year history of this country, no woman whether a Democrat or a Republican has been elected as our President. This time the nation chose a sexual predator over an accomplished prosecutor, attorney general, U.S. Senator, and sitting Vice President of the United States.
We still have two more bridges to cross in this country: racism and sexism. That was once again on display when Donald Trump with all his moral failures was chosen by this nation over Kamala Harris.
I still believe in the Civil Rights anthem that says, "We shall overcome some day." Sadly, someday was not this year due to the racism and sexism that continue to eat away at the soul of America!
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The Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, is interim senior minister, First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland. He served as president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York, from 2011 to 2019.
