Introducing President-Elect Joe Biden and VEEP Kamala Harris

You could say it’s been an eventful weekend.

If you didn’t hear cheers in the street Saturday morning and haven’t been involved in any impromptu celebrations, here’s what you need to know: Donald Trump has been elected out of office. Former Vice President Joe Biden is America’s President-Elect, having received the highest recorded number of votes in the popular vote, with 20 votes from the electoral college.

Candidates need 270 votes from the electoral college in order to win, an especially long process with the overwhelming amount of mail-in voters this election. With pressure on states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia this week, we saw historically Republican regions turn blue, electing Joe Biden to office. With a nearly week-long election practically done, as some states double-check their results and the final ballots trickle in, many of us can breathe a sigh of relief at the news, but we all know the road to actual, positive change isn’t over yet.

Image by Carolyn Kaster
Image by Andrew Harnik

Nevertheless, Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running-mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, have broken records this election. Harris is the first female, first African American, and first Asian American Vice President in the nation’s history, stating in her already historic acceptance speech, “I may be the first woman to hold this office, but I won’t be the last.”

In Biden’s own victory speech, he reiterates the sentiment that he will serve as a President with decisions that benefit everyone, not just a select few, as we’ve seen over the past four years. However, this administration is at risk of the Senate blocking everything they may try to pass, which is why all eyes are on the Georgia runoff right now. If you’re eligible to vote in Georgia, look here for everything to know about flipping the Senate this December.

Image by Andrew Harnik

Both Biden and Harris acknowledged that they would not have made it to these positions without the work and support of Black voters, especially Black female voters. In Georgia alone, Stacey Abrams, Helen Butler, Nsé Ufot, Deborah Scott, and Tamieka Atkins are five Black women who have helped register over 800,000 new voters for this election, and there are millions of other trailblazing Black women who we truly owe this election to. Trump has been a threat to marginalized communities for years, and it’s imperative that Biden and Harris not only protect but also uplift these communities and especially Black women, and work toward overall progress during their terms.

Results from The Associated Press

The relief has been palpable since it was announced that Trump has been elected out of office, with millions celebrating across the nation. After four years of torment and intentional harm by our own President, cities throughout the country are overwhelmed with joy at the news that he’s out. Trump himself, as expected, refuses to acknowledge that he’s been defeated, continuing to spread false news to his supporters, claiming that he has won the election. As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s what we’ve all come to expect after the past four years.

As we wait for Donald Trump to reconcile with defeat and concede the election, there are still a couple of months before Biden’s inauguration. Often referred to as the lame duck period, Trump may try to pass even more harmful executive orders in his final months in office, so we should all stay alert and hope that no further damage is done. We also need to focus on holding President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris accountable for the platforms that they ran on, including climate change initiatives and health care for all, ensuring that we see progress starting in January 2021.

Image by Pat Benic

And though we can breathe a sigh of relief for a moment, the nation is still divided at its core, and the fight against police brutality and to protect Black lives is far from over. If you’re able to go out (wearing a mask) and continue protesting the systems around us, please do so. If you can financially support ongoing movements or look into other ways you can provide support from home, keep that up. Now is not the time to get complacent, and we all need to keep fighting in order to see this nation truly change for the better.

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