Holding Onto Hope: Highlighting 2024 Election Wins
As LL shared, this blog will look different moving forward.
Both the appearance and the content will be altered to reflect the reality of our situation. While LL is our in-house interior decorator who has already brightened up the blog, I will do my best to shift my writing in a way that helps reflect how people feel. I know that we've had several community members already step away and others who will pop in periodically. We completely understand this and want everyone to know that you're always welcome here at The Bar if and when you choose to return. If you decide that you need to remove yourselves permanently, we understand that too, and sincerely hope that you find peace and tranquility during these uncertain times. Many of you have been fighting these same fights for decades and needing to take time away after last Tuesday is completely understandable. Our goal is simply to be here with our community to find ways in which we can support each other during these uncertain times.
On my end, I'm hoping to try to uplift stories and events that provide a glimmer of hope during these dark times. While our national political scene will be problematic, there will continue to be Democrats at the local and state level who will continue to fight for justice. As LL so eloquently shared over the weekend, the moral arc will continue to bend toward justice, albeit at a much slower rate come January. I feel that part of my new role will be sharing examples of this as a way to counter what will be happening at the federal level. There will be millions of us fighting for social justice and one of my goals is to make sure those of us in the field have an opportunity to continue to bond over the work. Even in America's darkest times, there were those working against oppressive systems. We are simply the latest iteration in a long line of those doing what was right at a time when those in power were on the wrong side of history.
Starting off, while we obviously did not get the results we wanted last Tuesday, there were some significant victories for Democrats and for justice. Among them were:
The election of the 4th and 5th Black women to serve in the United States Senate
On Tuesday night, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland made history by becoming only the 4th and 5th Black women to serve in the United States Senate. Before them, only Carol Moseley Brown of Illinois, Kamala Harris, and Laphonza Butler of California had served in the upper chamber. This will be the first time in our nation's history that two Black women will serve concurrently in the Senate.
The election of the first transgender person in the United States House of Representatives
On the House side, Sarah McBride of Delaware won the at-large House seat to become the first transgender person elected to Congress. At a time when Republicans have honed their culture wars onto the transgender community, it was a welcome site to see Delaware reject that transphobia and elect McBride to the position. McBride has become a trailblazer in so many ways and will continue to advocate for a community that has been so unfairly villainized throughout these past few years.
7 additional states enshrined abortion protections
In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, we've seen a movement toward individual states working to protect a woman's right to choose. While blue states have taken the lead on this, red states that have put the issue on the ballot have also seen abortion rights enshrined. Before Tuesday night, abortion rights had been approved every time a vote had come up on the ballot. While Tuesday night did not yield a 100% success rate, the states of Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York successfully enshrined abortion rights into their state constitutions. An eighth state, Florida, has its amendment passed with 57% in favor of enshrining abortion rights but unfortunately, this number did not meet the 60% threshold needed to enact the new law. Organizers in Florida are likely to revisit a potential ballot initiative in 2026. The last two states, Nebraska and South Dakota, did not see success but even getting enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot shows that even some of the reddest states will continue to fight for a woman's right to choose.
Local victories that matter to you
Lastly, it's important for all of us to look at our own local election results to see what local races might end up having a positive impact on ourselves and our communities. Here in Massachusetts, I'm proud to share that our state became the first in the nation to grant rideshare drivers the opportunity to unionize. At a time when these drivers are exploited through their companies viewing them as independent contractors, this new ballot initiative will grant them the opportunity to come together and fight for better wages and working conditions. As we've come to learn, many of these folks rely on their rideshare work not as a weekend gig, but as their primary source of income. Being able to come to the table with their employer and negotiate will be a critical piece in creating long-term stability in an emerging field that has been largely unrelated up to this point. The hope is that this new labor law will help lead the way for gig economy workers throughout the nation.
What did you all see in your backyards? Were you inspired by any local candidates who were able to claim victory? What gave you hope on any otherwise bleak Tuesday night? Share your responses in the comments below and let's highlight some hope for all of us on this Monday holiday.