Madam President

Yes We Will, someday.

Devastated is an understatement.

History is no stranger to hard-fought battles. Even more familiar with hard-fought losses.

The ache of this loss will sting for a long time, a profound message that we are not a priority, that hate unfortunately does have a place here. But how beautiful is it that we accomplished what we did? What was once inconceivable?

How empowering to know that our fight, our plight, transcends geographic boundaries; our fellow brothers and sisters across the globe standing with us and urging us forward. Our hope propelled us so far already, and it is amazingly heartwarming to see that message resonating with so many others. That a world with more empathy and justice, kindness and love, acceptance and understanding, will continue being reached for.

I will not let it be in vain.

You don’t have to go too far back in my family tree to find the ugliness of America. Some families pass down stories of wealth and riches through the generations, of empires realized and built. I’ve always heard the stories of a youth marred by the darkest corners of adversity.

Fruit rationed as Christmas gifts. Fields of cotton tended by overworked, sun-tanned hands, hours of labor in suffocating southern heat. I knew early on that the greats of my lineage had placated the whims of cruel masters, bearing children a result of forced moments behind closed doors. I heard of grandparents quartered and hanged as public spectacle, a daughter forced to watch her father reduced to parts. In my mind I can imagine the KKK leaking through town with torches and pitchforks, burning everything in sight and ripping people from homes.

Our ancestry is tarnished by atrocity, yet we still stand today. And because of this, I refuse to slow down.

In this grief, and anger, and maybe even apathy, the most courageous thing we can all do is keep going. I know what came before me and I will not live in a world that becomes crueler as I sit idly by.

Now is the time to remember what we can achieve and what a better future can look like. Let our sadness fuel us to keep climbing higher, to keep speaking, and to keep wanting more. Advocacy, education and, perhaps most importantly, hope, are more paramount than ever before.

We are heartbroken, and tired, and uncertain about the future, but what I know is this:

We cannot and will not give up. We will see the world we know we deserve and live the lives we know are possible.

I want our world to be better for those after us, out of respect for those who struggled before us and lifted us to where we sit now — perched at a vantage point that once seemed unfathomable, too. Reachable only in dreams.

We can. We have. We will continue to.

Thank you, Vice President Kamala Harris, for uniting so many of us under a just cause. For showing us that united we stand tall and can make things happen. This election may be a loss, but your campaign ignited a fire under so many aching to be lit. Our strength will get us through this. Our perseverance will propel us forward. Our belief in Freedom For All will be actualized.

“THE LIGHT OF AMERICA’S PROMISE WILL ALWAYS BURN BRIGHT — AS LONG AS WE NEVER GIVE UP, AND AS LONG AS WE KEEP FIGHTING.”