Last weekend I had an experience I wasn’t expecting.  During the announcement that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the election, I began to cry.  I had an emotional reaction to this historic moment in time and I needed to process it. Why did I cry? Tears of Hope and Expectation

Because I am a Black Man – Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with crying and nothing wrong with men crying.  However, I was surprised by the reaction to the news until I thought about it.  I am the product of Brooklyn, New York, born and raised in several different housing developments, yes the projects.  My mother did a great job but she had to do it alone as I only met my father three times in my life.  I had and still have a great family network that pushed us through. However, as a Black Man from this context,  I have seen friends die and go to jail at a higher rate than I have seen them advance in careers and provide for their families.  So this year with the countless losses of Black Men and Women’s lives that,  this election hit me differently. Knowing that the current president had little to no plan or response for these lives lost, at that moment, I felt a renewed sense of hope.

Because I am a Father – As I heard the news, I thought about my daughter, who just turned 6, and my prayers for her and all students having to live through this season.  It is a very different season we live in than I had to live in when I was their age.  For my wife and I it felt like each week we had to explain why there were so many people marching for a different name.  Why people were upset with police officers, who my daughter knows is supposed to serve and protect the community.  Why the president and leader of our nation often spoke to people as if he was speaking down to them.  Yet, at this moment I felt a release, and yes thankfulness that those conversations might not stop totally but that with this leadership they would, prayerfully, be different.  That I could have a conversation with her about how the second-highest office in our nation is now going to be held by a woman who looked like her!!! This was indeed a great moment.

Because I am a Christian – As a teacher, preacher, and leader who understands the command to respect and honor those in authority over you, these last 4 years have been difficult, to say the least.  It has been hard to pray for our president but I have done it, to pray for the leaders appointed but I have done it.  It has been hard because I knew from their decisions and actions that they didn’t “see” me.  They didn’t recognize how the decisions, comments, and actions they made impacted a person like me.  A person who is a Black Man, a Father, and a Christian leader.  However, at the moment I heard of the win for President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, I felt another release and more hope.  It was a hopeful and awesome moment that moved me to tears.  This hope is a rejoicing hope (Romans 12:12), rejoicing as a Christian trusting in God’s control, looking forward to God’s direction, and ready to work/serve to do my part to see this hope actualized in this world.

Finally, let me say that I know the work has just begun. I know that no one is perfect not even those in leadership but I also know that God can do all things despite us.  I am praying for the over 70 million people who voted to re-elect the president and I am praying for what God has planned for us all. At this moment, I am thankful for what is possible and I am praying for you and your families as well. How did you react to the news?