A SUMMARY OF PART NINETEEN OF “UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT”

On Wednesday, October 28th, the African American Policy Forum hosted our nineteenth episode of our hit series, Under the Blacklight, titled “Where Do We Go From Here - Chaos or Community?”

In this special episode, AAPF Executive Director Kimberlé Crenshaw engaged in conversation with eight Under the Blacklight veteran panelists and esteemed leaders in fields ranging from congressional politics to media to community organizing: Emery Wright, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Barbara Lee, Kate Manne, Janine Jackson, Kirsten West Savali, Alicia Garza and Eddie Glaude Jr. Together, these panelists explored the aftermath of arguably the most historic election of our lifetimes.

Even with a Biden-Harris win and a Trump defeat, the United States still faces a set of daunting existential questions; while 77 million Americans came together to oust an administration that oversaw a disastrous assault on the nation’s physical, spiritual, and social well being, 72 million Americans voted to continue that status quo. And even further, exit polling data suggests that Trump not only maintained his white base, but improved his vote count from the LGBTQ+, Latinx, Asian American, and African American communities, as well as from women.

During this moment of deep societal division, can we imagine and begin to realize community in the midst of this chaos? What must we do in the face of an election that was far from a universal repudiation of the politics of destruction?

In an effort to answer those questions and effectuate a more equitable future, the panel navigated through a wide array of issues that the election results shed light on. They touched on the US’s social history that brought us to the brink, the stunning paradoxes that defined this election, the roles of race and gender in the results, the future of Trumpism and progressivism, the media coverage of America at its most vulnerable, the collective activation necessary in this watershed moment, and so much more.

You can listen to this powerful discussion in the nineteenth installment of “Under The Blacklight” as a podcast, or watch a replay of the event on YouTube (here).