Page 7 - 100 Day Report-2021

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100 Day Report 100 Day Report
THE ROOM WHERE
IT HAPPENS
by Grand Sire Archon Dwanyne M. Murray
Minutes after Joe Biden said he had selec- ted Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential choice, Lisa, my Archousa, ran into my office. “Have you heard? Soror Harris was selected by Biden.” She was excited, but the tears in her eyes suggested it was much more. “I need to call the girls,” she added. I suspect this scene played out in thousands of Boulé homes across the country. As I began to think about this his- toric moment, three words came to mind: visibility, power and possibilities.
VISIBILITY
My Archousa and I have been married for thirty-two years. We have been blessed with three children: two girls and a boy. Those of us who have lived with Black wo- men all our lives know how they have led our families and molded our beings. We also know how they too often have been cast in supportive roles despite their lea- dership. We see it in how they are portra- yed in film and other media, how few Black women are leading major corporations, and how quickly they are batted down when they dare to assert themselves and assume leadership. Kamala Harris near the top of the ticket means new visibility for Black women... in fact, all women. It means my daughters and millions of others can now see themselves in a new way. They can see themselves leading from the front of the line instead of just imagining it.
POWER
While we have lived to see a Black man be responsible for making the final decisions on issues most important to the United States and the world, no Black woman has ever been that close to power. No Black woman has ever had the last advisory word in the room where it happens, the seat of power that many of us sang about in Hamilton.
If Joe Biden wins, a Black woman will, for the first time, be in the room where it ha- ppens with the power to affect the course of history. If that is important to you, only voting can make it happen.
POSSIBILITIES
Perhaps more than any other citizens, Black Americans have believed in the promise of America. Perhaps to survive, we have held fast to its possibilities. Archon Martin Luther King, Jr., certainly believed in it. “We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” Harris’s nomination countersigns the check Archon King said we had come to the nation’s ca- pital to cash in 1963. We’ve been holding it since in good faith that we would one day receive payment in full.
Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity was founded in part to bring together Black men and position them to be an example of what is possible, “to be an example of the higher type of manhood.” As Archons, we know that the highest type of manhood means embra- cing the most in womanhood. Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris to be his running mate fills me with pride beyond belief.
One of our most important traditions, Christmas Is for the Archousai, is when we pause to honor, celebrate and say thank you to our Archousai. For many Archousai, the elevation of Kamala Harris means Christmas has come early.