Supporters listen as Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, concedes the election during a speech at Howard University on November 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C. | Source: Brandon Bell / Getty
Many Black women felt President Joe Biden was unfit to run for a second term and should have never entered the race in the first place. Instead, he entered, and remained, long past what was advisable. This meant that Vice President Kamala Harris had less than 107 days to assemble a presidential campaign, raise enough funds to be competitive, and crisscross the nation to make her plea to the American people.
She raised over $1 billion dollars in three months and accomplished the impossible, readily embodying, “Black Girl Magic.” While she fell short of reaching the White House, the burden she carried for those three months was a reminder to many Black women that we are often called in at the last minute; given someone else’s leftovers and expected to perform miracles. Many of us rise to the occasion only to elude the finish line. This stings.
For many Black women, Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss represents a chronic betrayal. Whether it is politics, academia, healthcare or the nonprofit sector, we often feel our backs are against the rope and we have little time or resources to do what is expected of us. We often comment on a lack of support and a lack of recognition when we pull off what even our rivals couldn’t do.
Like a lot of us, Vice President Harris was set up to fail. Yet she took the lot that was handed to her and did her very best. She made magic and is now being shamed instead of celebrated. It’s not easy for Black women to quickly move on or rush into the next house that is on fire. Our hearts have been injured. We are exhausted.
We understand that elections have consequences and those consequences aren’t felt evenly by those in the community. As such, there is a lot of fear and trepidation regarding the 2024 election, particularly among Black women. I’ve seen prominent political pundits and commentators breaking down on national television and Black women of varying degrees of status proclaiming that they are done with this nation.
In the midst of this difficult moment, I remind my clients, my young adult Black daughters, and myself, that every injury includes an opportunity for healing. Healing can come even with the most painful of injuries. Healing is possible.
We can decide, at this moment, to be the exact opposite of what we believe the incoming administration represents. To do this, we have to relinquish the hoof prints of oppression and support each other more deeply than we have in the past. This looks like resting, connecting and believing that healing is possible. It looks like each of us re-committing ourselves to serving the hearts of Black women – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Emotionally, this support looks like the co-creation of healing circles, making space for the range of feelings that we are not always free to express in the presence of others. We can support Black women spiritually, regardless of religion, in the creation of rituals that incorporate sights, scents, music, sound, and sacred moments to call on our ancestors. And for those of us in leadership positions, our healing happens when we relinquish the notion of scarcity that has been imposed on us, by choosing to hire the most educated segment of this country to work for and with us.
Healing can happen. I witness its beauty every day. It will take time. It will take community. It will take intentionality. It will take trust.
I believe in us.
Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye is a psychotherapist, author and founder of the Heart Nest Center. Her practice centers and serves Black women. It is rooted in the philosophy of psychotherapy as an act of love.
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