by Kelsey Marie Harris

Yesterday was probably one of the most joyous days of 2020 for a lot of people. It signified hope that things might finally shift in the right direction in this country. And while it was fun to toast and laugh together over memes, for me the moment was fleeting.

Satisfaction can be detrimental, because often with it, we lose momentum. Save your sigh of relief. While a “Trump Free” White House is a signifier of good things to come, it’s insignificant.

The earth is dying. Children are still separated from their families. Black people are still not safe walking down the street, or in their own homes for that matter.We are drowning in systematic racism, and the water is so deep, a Biden administration can’t and won’t save us.

The sad truth is, for most of the privileged, the election was enough. For those of us who aren’t, we are left to fight the same fight we’ve always had to fight, alone. Because our battle doesn’t start and end in an election year.

I’ve seen tweet after tweet urging everyone to stay vigilant and to hold our new president elect, and newly elected politicians accountable. But how can we, when they are protected by a system that upholds their unaccountability?

The system is not broken. It was strategically built this way, and it is strong. We cannot fix what is intentional. It must be dismantled brick by brick. And if that’s not possible, burn it to the ground.