Politics and Current
Kamala Harris presents election as a choice between ‘freedom’ and ‘chaos and division’ in her closing speech – The Essence
Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
With the White House behind her, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered an impassioned closing speech to the American people. In an incredibly accelerated election cycle in which Harris had only three months to define herself to voters beyond the Biden administration, she used the speech to spotlight the stark contrast between her values and vision for the country and that of Donald Trump. Even her chosen venue, the Ellipse (site of Donald Trump’s infamous event Speech of January 6 in 2021, where he exhorted his followers to “fight like hell” and preceded an rebel) looked as if it would symbolize the various type of government he offers.
Here are our top 5 takeaways.
Harris says Donald Trump is fascinated about himself
Harris wasted no time in laying out the stakes of the election, saying: “This election is more than just a choice between two parties and two different candidates. “It’s a choice whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or one ruled by chaos and division.” She went on to characterize Donald Trump as deeply selfish and focused on revenge against his perceived enemies. “Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him, people he calls, quote, America’s ‘enemy from within.’ This is not a presidential candidate who thinks about how to improve his life. “He is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grief and craving unchecked power.” Unlike Trump, who has an “enemies list,” Harris described herself as someone who has a “bucket list” of things she desires to do for the country.
It’s time to change sides to Division
Unity was one other theme of Harris’ speech. While the country “has become absorbed in too much division, chaos and mutual distrust,” she said, “it doesn’t have to be this way.” Harris encouraged Americans to assume a united country with her on the helm: “We have to stop pointing fingers and start clenching our hands. It is time to turn the page on drama and conflict, fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America, and I am ready to offer that leadership as the next President of the United States.” If elected, Harris also promised to be a president for all people, even those that disagree with her: “Here’s what I promise you: I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done, and if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, nothing in the world will stand in my way.”
Harris says a middle-class upbringing inspires presidential priorities
Harris portrayed herself as someone who cared concerning the average American and could connect with them due to her middle-class upbringing. “There’s something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that, honestly, just blows my mind. I don’t like it. This is what my mother instilled in me: a drive to hold accountable those who use their wealth or power to take advantage of other people, a drive to protect hardworking Americans who are not always seen or heard and who deserve a voice.” At several points in her speech, she recalled memories of her mother and how that will impact her priorities as president. For example, when developing her economic plan, she recalled: “I’ll always remember how our mother saved and how excited she was when she could finally afford to purchase our first house. I remember how excited she was and I do know that owning a home is just not only a guarantee of economic security. It’s about taking pride in your labor, and as president, I’ll fight to assist first-time home buyers make down payments, defeat firms which might be raising rents and constructing thousands and thousands of recent homes. Because of her experience caring for her mother while battling cancer, she knows how expensive it will probably be, so Harris also proposed extending Medicare home health care coverage to seniors to ease the burden on families.
Harris vows to take motion on abortion and immigration
Since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate, Harris has repeatedly advocated for reproductive rights, and in her speech she once more asserted that a woman – not the federal government – has the fitting to make her own decisions about her body. In contrast to what she said was Trump’s plan to ban abortion nationwide, she promised that “as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it when Congress passes legislation to restore reproductive freedom nationwide.” On the heels degrading remarks Last week, Trump spoke out about immigrants during his controversial rally at Madison Square Garden, Harris said: “Politicians must stop treating immigration as an issue to intimidate votes and instead treat it as a serious challenge that we must finally unite to address.” to unravel the issue.” In addition to promising to sign a previously rejected bipartisan immigration bill, she also recognized the worth of immigrants. She promised comprehensive immigration reform: “We must recognize that we are a nation of immigrants, and I will work with Congress to pass immigration reform that includes a workable path to citizenship for hard-working immigrants like farmworkers and Dreamers.”
In a hallmark of the campaign, Harris ended on an optimistic note
Reflecting on her extraordinary journey that led to this moment, Harris said: “I grew up as a child of the civil rights movement. My parents took me in a stroller to marches where crowds of people of all races, creeds, and walks of life gathered to fight for the ideals of freedom and opportunity. I lived the promise of America. I saw how hard our mother worked to give her daughters the same opportunities this country gave her.” She continued: “These United States of America, we will not be a vessel for the plans of would-be dictators… Let us fight for this beautiful country that we love and in seven days we will likely be in power. Each of you has the facility to show the page and begin writing the following chapter of probably the most extraordinary story ever told. While this speech was intended to be her closing argument, it won’t be the last time voters will see her on the campaign trail. On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to go to three cities in battleground states: Raleigh, North Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Madison, Wisconsin.
Politics and Current
Donald Trump slammed for proposing ‘restitution’ for Americans harmed by ‘unjust’ DEI policies; Joy Reid, Don Lemon Audible alarm
It isn’t any secret that Donald Trump’s increased popularity in politics is attributable to the reluctance of white people. The president-elect routinely portrays the MAGA nation as victims of well-educated elites.
“Colleges and universities have received hundreds of billions of dollars from hard-working taxpayers, and now we will rid our institutions of this anti-American madness once and for all,” he said in a video posted Wednesday on several social media platforms. “We will have a real education in America.”
Billed as “payback,” Trump’s plan to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs at U.S. colleges and universities features a provision requiring reparations to those allegedly harmed by measures enacted to offer greater opportunities for marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
“In other words, reparations for white people,” said MSNBC host Joy Reid, who never shies away from difficult words and phrases.
However, it’s difficult to query her position. This is confirmed by Trump’s statement on the matter:
“I will further direct the Department of Justice to pursue federal civil rights cases against schools that continue to engage in racial discrimination, and schools that continue to engage in blatant, unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity will not only have their grants taxed, but through budget reconciliation, I will file a motion to impose a fine on them in the amount of the entire amount of their equipment. Some of the confiscated funds will then be used to compensate the victims of the illegal and unjust policies that have harmed our country so much.”
Seizing funds after which giving them to “victims of these illegal and unfair policies” is textbook reparations. Trump, nonetheless, opposes reparations for the descendants of enslaved Black individuals who, it needs to be noted, have been victims of centuries of illegal and unjust policies.
When asked about reparations for Black people in 2019, Trump said Hill“I think it’s a very unusual thing. It was a very interesting debate. I don’t see that happening, no.”
Author Keith Boykin, former advisor to President Bill Clinton, sent with an X that it’s clear who Trump thinks is experiencing racial discrimination.
“Trump announces reparations for white people,” Boykin wrote. “He says he will ask the Department of Justice to penalize and fine colleges that embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) so he can pay ‘reparations’ to white people whom he considers the true victims of racial discrimination.”
However, compensation for the descendants of slaves stays controversial. In California, the answer was to create an agency to manage funds (that had not yet been put aside) for compensation defeated earlier this yr, and even supporters say it’ll take one other decade for the movement to succeed.
Since Republicans control the Senate and the House, it shouldn’t take Trump that long to push through a reparations plan.
Some X commenters blamed black voters who supported Trump.
“Now imagine you are one of the 12% of black voters who crossed your fingers to vote for Trump.” he said one reader. “Lmao he’s fooling them all.”
Former CNN host Don Lemon also slammed the proposal on social media.
“You voted for this,” Lemon said.
Others saw it as a golden opportunity to talk on behalf of Black people.
“Most black people want to be judged on their merits, not the color of their skin.” he replied one white woman per X. “Not everyone thinks black people should have the bar lowered like you do.”
Trump has proposed wholesale changes to the U.S. education system, including searching for to eliminate the Department of Education, which might give full power to states. Congressional approval is required.
Politics and Current
Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education spells doom for Black America
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education is being criticized as a possible whitewash of the American education system and a challenge to Title I and Title VI that would prevent funding for special education, school lunch programs, and the possible cancellation of summer schools.
Duncan fears “the whitewashing of our history” and adds: “We have to worry about defunding the most vulnerable groups in society. Title I Money for Poor Children – money for children with special needs or school lunches – anything that can be taken away.”
He continued: “Focus on after-school programs and summer schools may be taken away. Access to higher education – may be restricted.”
Duncan, also A Howard University’s board of trustees has expressed concern about HBCU funding during the second Trump administration. During Trump’s first term, his adviser Steve Bannon argued that committing to more funding for the institution after a White House meeting with Trump can be unconstitutional, justifying concerns that such conduct constitutes discrimination against other races and ethnic groups.
HBCU supporters are concerned about whether or not they can be funded at the appropriate level. Historically, HBCUs have needed more funding, especially amid challenges from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning race-based admissions to predominantly white colleges, also often called affirmative motion. Applications to HBCUs are on the rise, causing schools to fret about housing capability, scholarships and sophistication sizes.
Former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., said Trump’s education proposals are “appalling.”
Jones continued: “The Department of Education is also responsible for investigating anti-Semitism on college campuses, which Republicans say is important to them.”
He added: “But when the rubber meets the road, (Republicans) will quickly abandon it, undermining this important federal department.”
As President-elect Trump prepares to take the oath of office in roughly 70 days, IMD’s Global Competitiveness Center Competitiveness Report 2024 ranks American educational standing twelfth in the world.
Trump said he desires to “fire the radical left accreditors who have allowed our colleges and universities to be dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”
In recent years, some Republican governors have opposed the College Board’s accreditation of an AP African-American studies course that provided college credit.
Bumbaugh believes that anything that just isn’t directly related to federal funding is an area government issue for schools. However, he said, voters could have a say in that call because “it will likely be through school board elections and then through state-level elections, similar to governors, where the governor selects state education chiefs.”
Politics and Current
North Carolina Plantation Descendants Won’t ‘Cower’ From ‘Disrespectful’ Massive Texts About Slavery After Donald Trump’s Election
Descendants of certainly one of North Carolina’s largest plantations have condemned mass text messages sent to Black Americans across the country informing them that they’ve been “selected to pick cotton” the day after Donald Trump was re-elected president.
Black people across the country were sent the identical message with slight differences, informing them that that they had been “selected to pick cotton on the nearest plantation.”
Dozens of text messages informed recipients that the “executive slaves” would arrive in a “brown van” that will transport them to the plantations after which inform the victims which “plantation group,” marked AZ, they belonged to.
Beverly Evans said ABC11 that “people who received these messages felt disrespected, and all of us, as Black people, felt disrespected because of this.”
The 76-year-old recently learned that she is descended from a family that was once enslaved on the Stagville Plantation in Durham, North Carolina. According to Stagville’s websitethe plantation belonged to the Bennehan-Cameron family, which enslaved over 900 people across 30,000 acres of land within the state.
The North Carolina Department of Historic Sites reported that some people even received text messages mentioning the Stagville plantation:
“We have become aware that some North Carolinians have received alarming text messages regarding the Stagville State Historic Plantation Site. North Carolina Historic Sites condemns these acts that sought to incite fear and division by weaponizing history. Stagville is a sacred space where visitors can grapple with the history of slavery, emancipation and injustice. We will cooperate with law enforcement to investigate these hateful and fraudulent messages.”
Another person whose family was once enslaved on the Stagville plantation asserted that he wouldn’t be unnerved by messages designed to stoke fear and intimidation.
“We don’t hide anymore. We are no longer intimidated. Those days are over,” said Ricky Hart. “They can try the intimidation factor or the fear factor, but it won’t work anymore.”
The news sparked a social media firestorm and was condemned by many state and federal elected officials. Authorities strongly urged anyone who received the message to contact local FBI field offices and state agencies.
Federal agents opened an investigation and dispatched criminal, cyber and counterintelligence agencies to analyze the matter. It is unclear right now whether the lyrics come from the United States or abroad.
A spokesman for CTIA, the official trade association representing the U.S. wireless communications industry, he told NBC News blocked many messages and the numbers that sent them. The association urged people to send spam text messages to 7726 or “SPAM” to report them to their wireless service provider.
Divisive and hateful rhetoric has increased throughout the last presidential election cycle. Trump has been hailed by his opponents as a significant influencer of this rhetoric, raising concerns that race relations within the country will proceed to deteriorate once he returns to office.
The NAACP released an announcement stating that the messages “represent an alarming increase in vile and disgusting rhetoric from racist groups across the country who now feel emboldened to spread hate and fan the flames of fear many of us feel in the wake of Tuesday’s election results.”
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, condemned the text messages last week, stating: “If we can find the origin of these messages that promote this kind of ugliness on our behalf, we will of course take legal action to stop it.”
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