Vote for the future you want!

Last week, I voted early in Wisconsin at my local city hall for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for President and Vice President of the USA. 

This was the second time I voted for a black woman seeking the office of President of the USA. The first time I was 18 or 19 years old and wrote in Shirley Chisholm’s name. 

I did not vote for Chisholm because she was a black woman. I voted for her because of what she promised she would do if elected. I knew she would not win. But I did not believe then or now that my vote was “wasted”. I assumed someone might tell her that she received at least one write-in vote. I wanted her to know that someone meeting her in person and hearing her message of love for this nation made a difference. 

When I voted early last week, I did not vote for Harris or Walz because of their gender or racial backgrounds. 

I, and my husband Dr. James E. Sulton, Jr., were members of Howard University’s faculty when Harris was a student there. I know what we taught our students – love of country and work hard to help ensure it and its peoples reach their full potential and experience the promises embedded in our nation’s Constitution. But I did not vote for Harris because of this reason.

I voted for the Harris/Walz ticket because I heard their message of love for this nation and what they plan to do to ensure our posterity too enjoys the blessings of liberty and freedom. Their message of working toward a brighter future for my six grandkids makes a difference to me.  

Given my extensive international travels, their message also makes a difference to me because of the USA’s global leadership. The USA is able to be a global leader, in part, because of the equal opportunity promises embedded within and guiding principles of democracy articulated in the USA’s Constitution.

Wisconsin is among the three swing states closely watched during this election cycle. The other two are Michigan and Pennsylvania. 

During exclusive interviews with other African American women in each of these three swing states, I learned why they are voting for the Harris/Walz ticket.  

Based in Wisconsin, Deanie Farris shared her excitement about being able to vote for Harris. Farris is a retired public school teacher and administrator. If you take her to lunch, be prepared for interruptions by former students and colleagues coming to your table expressing their love for her and sincere gratitude for her decades of work as an educator.

Farris said: “What an honor to be able to fulfill the dreams of those African Americans who sacrificed so much for freedom and equality.” She explained that voting for Harris “means I am able to fulfill the dreams of all who came before me – I get an opportunity to fulfill their dreams for what they could not do. It is an honor. If I had to crawl to the polls, I would.”

Based in Michigan, Beverly Jenkins said: “I am over the moon that I can vote for Harris.” Jenkins is an internationally renowned author of more than 40 books. Among the dozens of literary awards she has received is the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement for Romance Literature Award. Jenkins also was nominated for the NAACP literature award.

Jenkins said she is excited to vote for Harris because it reinforces what author Dorothy Sterling wrote in her book entitled We Are Your Sisters: Black Women of the 19th Century. Jenkins explained: “Sterling identified three gifts black women had in the 19th Century – work, commitment to community and community activism, and pushing the envelope on gender and race. Kamala embodies these three gifts.”

Based in Pennsylvania, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah is internationally renowned for her establishment of the House of Umoja in Philadelphia. During the past 40 years, several USA presidents have acknowledged that it is one of this nation’s most effective gang violence prevention programs. 

Now age 92, Fattah encourages everyone to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket. She said: “I am glad to be on the planet to witness this historic election. … On November 5th, put on the gg – gratitude and goal”.

Essentially, all three women now over the age of 70 said they are voting for the future they want this nation and world to see soon and in the distant future. They believe, as do I, this near future and distant future are best viewed in the brilliant light of the Harris/Walz ticket.