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In a world, where Black women are the least respected, Saturday night (November 7) my heart swelled with joy even as my eyes swelled with tears. The emotions were almost unbearable when I heard Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ victory speech. And to hear her say, "black women too often are overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy" was a beautiful sound to my ears.
Kamala Harris stands on the shoulders of black women like Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activists who led voter registration drives in Mississippi; Shirley Chilsom, the first black woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 1972; and Charlotta Bass, who was the first black woman to run for vice present in 1952. The very essence of black women like Stacy Abrams, founder of Fair Fight, an organization that brought in 800,000 voter registrations in the state of Georgia; Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta’s mayor; and Symone Sanders, senior adviser for Joe Biden’s campaign, suggests that when a nation is in trouble, bring in black women who know how to make a way out of no way. Bring in black women who know how to create, multiply, demolish giants and go up against systems that seek to destroy their children, families and YES, even the nation.
The Hebrew midwives in Exodus were the first rescuers of a nation. And they were rewarded for their reverence of God and their courage to stand against an Empire! As you are listening to this sermon, reflect on the Black women in your life and how the contributions they have made to save this nation.