Richard Fowler: MLK's legacy – Kamala Harris inauguration another step in march toward justice

On Election Day 1992, I was 5 years old, standing next to my mother as she cast her ballot for Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton. After she pushed her pin through the now problematic butterfly ballot, she stopped to explain to me the importance of voting and taking part in American democracy.  

My mother, a Jamaican-born immigrant living in the United States, passed on to me the power, privilege and struggle connected with civil rights and the right to vote.

While born in another country, my mother's life – like that of so many Black immigrants in the United States – was made better by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other brave souls who were willing to put their lives on the line for freedom, justice, equity and a more representative democracy.  

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For my mother, and women at large, that struggle and fight for representation are bearing fruit this coming Wednesday. 

For 243 years, the United States has had female citizens, but never a woman holding national office. To be honest, during those more than two centuries, this country has treated women pretty terribly. It has subjected them to pay lower than that of their male counterparts. It has forced them to pick between having a career and raising a family. It has also regulated their bodies, and fought tooth and nail to limit their voices in halls of power.  

Given all of that, women’s groups, led by Black women, organized, just as they did during the civil rights movement. As a result, they finally got what they were owed: a seat in the national office. On Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2021, at noon, Kamala D. Harris will be sworn in as the first woman vice president of the United States.  

I know that we are a divided nation. For a moment, I hope that we can put that aside to acknowledge history happening right before our very eyes. For the first time, young girls all across the United States and globally will finally see themselves in the seat of power. That will be an inspiring moment we should all celebrate.  

Vice President-elect Harris also embodies all the hopes, dreams and struggles that make up the American immigrant story.

As a first-generation American Black woman, Kamala Harris adds weight to the story my mother told me in 1992. She represents the boundless potential that Dr. King dreamed about as he spoke to millions from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  

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Vice President-elect Harris also embodies all the hopes, dreams and struggles that make up the American immigrant story. She is the birth of the strong Black women who were forced to make themselves small because society told them it was necessary. Most importantly, she embodies the dreams of every little girl who believes that she can one day be president of the United States.  

My mother's immigrant story and that of Vice President-elect Harris speak to the realized parts of Dr. King's dream. Regrettably, far too many Black people live in the shadows that should be renamed Dr. King's inequitable nightmare – communities that lack access to healthy food, high-quality public education and equitable health care. COVID-19 has only worsened these conditions.  

In his famous "I Have Dream" speech, King stated, "We've come to our nation's capital to cash a check." To be honest, we shouldn’t stop fighting until that check can get cashed and our community receives the equity it deserves.  

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Today, we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy. On Wednesday, we honor the dreams of all the women in our lives and what Vice President-elect Harris' inauguration means for their forward trajectory.  

On Thursday, we get back to work bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice, as King prescribed.  

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