Building A Multiracial Democracy in America

On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16^th president of the United States, succeeding James Buchanan. Buchanan is generally ranked as the worst president in U.S. history for his tacit support of slavery and for allowing Southern states to secede, and Lincoln the greatest for abolishing slavery and preserving the Union.

One hundred and sixty years later, with Joe Biden succeeding Donald Trump as the 46^th president of the United States, we are witnessing history repeating itself. Biden may not dislodge Lincoln from his perch but it seems certain that the doubly-impeached Trump will displace Buchanan as the worst U.S. president ever.

More serious than ranking is the ominous parallel between the America that Lincoln inherited and the America that Biden has. The Civil War over slavery in 19^th-Century America has transformed itself into a Civil War over white supremacy in the 21^st.

America, and the world, breathed a sigh of relief when Biden won the presidency in a free and fair election. His immediate $1.9 trillion stimulus to vaccinate Americans and put sufficient money into the pockets of despairing millions unable to think beyond milk for their babies, bread for their sustenance and rent for the current month is already making a difference. Biden has picked seasoned professionals, not partisan hacks, to oversee his American “Marshall Plan.” Restoring decency and normalcy will take time after four years of indecency and autocracy but there is guarded optimism that good governance, accountability and morality will return under Biden’s administration.

But addressing such urgent issues as safely opening schools, climate crisis, immigration reform, wealth inequality and a global reset will falter if the administration and the American people do not confront the existential threat of domestic terrorism by white supremacists. The armed mob that assaulted the foundation of our democracy on January 6^th was only a preview of what might recur if we do not confront this threat with the power of justice and the force of law.

Some myths, however, must be dispelled before domestic terrorism can be banished. First, that the “white” in white supremacy refers to all white Americans. That’s bigotry. Majority of whites reject the toxic ideology of racial superiority and do not subscribe to unhinged conspiracy theories. Second, that it’s the uneducated poor of rural America who form the bulk of white supremacists. Far from it. The January 6^th insurgents included lawmakers, police and military officers, middle-class urbanites, the wealthy and the privileged. Finally, that it’s an unchanging truth that Blacks do not vote even when the stakes are high. Despite Republican voter suppression and gerrymandering, it was American Blacks who were instrumental in delivering the presidency and vice-presidency to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It was also mostly Blacks who flipped the Senate for Democrats in Georgia, thanks to the massive voter enfranchisement effort by Stacey Abrams, continuing the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr, who led voter-registration drives in the South in the ‘60s.

So, how can we help the Biden administration defeat white nationalism that is tragically present in every community in America?

By mobilizing, protesting and convincing our representatives to act. After Trump became president in 2016, a national organization called “Indivisible” with local chapters in thousands of cities inspired millions of us to march against Trump’s xenophobic and demagogic transgressions in favor of a more humane America. We connected, created communities and compelled changes.

Such mobilization and activism must continue if we want to legally defeat white supremacy and right-wing extremism before national healing can begin. As historian Will Durant reminded us, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.”