OUR GOD HAS THE POWER TO MEET ANY CHALLENGE
By
Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
In 2008 and again in 2012, Black women played a key role in electing President Barack Obama. That was one of our proudest moments in history. We came back again in 2016 and did all we could to save America. Unfortunately, we were not successful. 94 percent of us stood together and voted for the person we believed would be most helpful to our community. Unfortunately, bigotry and an unhealthy amount of sexism took over where even a great number of our white sisters and almost all white men preferred being white to allowing us to break the barrier of 45 men only elected to become President of the United States. There is no denying that a lot of the vote was rooted in backlash for a highly successful President who succeeded despite all the roadblocks put in his way.
Early after the election, I decided to tell our members and friends who were having a difficult time dealing with the election results that God’s Got This. We’ve been through so many challenges in our life time and our ancestors went through even more. There’s one thing Black women know how to manage, and that’s hard times!
We are seeing the conclusion of the term of a President who stood up for the least of these! He allowed over 20 million more people who had no health insurance to finally have a plan. He paid attention to climate change and to saving clean water. He brought many young men and women back home from the war zone in Iraq. He organized a way to help young men of color through “My Brother’s Keeper.” He’s fought for law enforcement reform and against voter suppression.
I applaud him for these things as well as for finding a way to get the middle-class tax cuts and the unemployed a new lease on life when he extended unemployment insurance in his first term. He saved the automobile industry. When he came into office, I think the most urgent thing for the President to do was to lift up the least of these in the spirit of the holiday season. We were filled with joy and thanksgiving.
Black women have lifted our voices to tell our stories, tell our truths as we were inspired by our wonderful and brilliant First Lady, Michelle Obama. She lifted our spirits, and we were proud to have her unveil the Sojourner Truth statue that we were responsible for having it placed in the U.S. Capitol, making Sojourner the first Black woman to be honored there.
The President and First Lady have definitely made us proud that we worked so hard to get them into the White House. They did not disappoint us.
What a difference 8 years have made in our lives! We will never forget the impact they’ve made on our families.
Our challenge is to return to the unity we once had in the Black community, and remember that the same God who was in charge when Barack and Michelle came to us is the God who will take us through the next years as we witness what this new Administration will bring.
From all indications, there will be hardships, but we will get through it if we remember that our God brought our ancestors through slavery, through Jim Crow and a lot of very difficult times. He is still powerful enough to bring us through whatever the new Administration has in mind.
We invite Black women from all walks of life to join us in our quest to look out for our brothers and sisters even when others try to pull us apart. Know that our God has the power to help us to meet any challenge.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. is National President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. You may reach her by calling 202/678-6788 or see the NCBW website at www.nationalcongressbw.org)