Give it a rest!
It gets old hearing people complain about what President Biden “hasn’t done.” NBC News published an article entitled: “Black people aren’t sold on Biden—but they haven’t given up, either.” I’m about as Black as they come, but I am also a realist. As I reflect on President Biden’s first year, I am pleased with his progress overall. He is a good man, and he is trying his best for all of us, Blacks included. NBC News reported that Blacks are unhappy because President Biden has not passed voting rights and police reform. I would like for those things to pass too, but I also understand what it takes to make them happen. We have two Democrats fighting virtually everything President Biden proposes, and we knew the Republicans would fight anything he proposed because they are assholes who do not really care about the American people. You may not be fully happy with Joe Biden, but do you prefer Madison Cawthorn? How about Marjorie Taylor Greene? You get my point.
Voting rights is the last thing Republicans want passed into law. Indeed, most state-level Republicans have been working overtime to make it even harder to vote. Why does anyone think the Republicans in Washington will support federal voting rights? They are all birds of the same rotten feather. NBC News quoted Teresa Moore, who after studying all candidates decided to go with Joe Biden “because he promised he would not forget Black people once he got in office.” She is now “less enthusiastic” because “I haven’t seen much for Black people.” No president is going to be president for Black folks only. The president must care about all the people and try to do what benefits the most.
One area in which President Biden has been able to shine is an important area for all of us: the judiciary. As Palmer Report shared earlier this year, Biden has had more judicial confirmations than any president since Ronald Reagan. Unlike his predecessor, he has thoughtfully nominated qualified candidates, the majority of whom are minority and/or women. In fact, Newsweek reported that 80% are women and 53% are people of color. Isn’t that what we need in the judiciary after the last guy’s predominantly white, incompetent, right-wingers? That is a huge accomplishment toward fairness for Blacks and every other minority in this country. We should also remember the initial Covid package, which included a child tax credit that has “substantially reduced poverty and hardship among children and families,” Chalkbeat reported. And who do we think heads up those poverty numbers? Black and brown children. We have seen an overall decrease in poverty rates from 15.8% to 11.9% according to Poverty & Social Policy Brief, and the major recipients are our children. Perhaps Teresa Moore has not “seen much for Black people,” but I see plenty. Life isn’t perfect, and government certainly is not. We must keep fighting. Deserting a man who has tried his best in challenging circumstances is not the way to accomplish that. The more that we can see the glass “half full,” the better off we will be.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years