What Does The Biden/Harris Presidency Mean To Africa?

Who is Kamala Harris? She is the first Vice President of the United States to carry so many identities in one, which could inspire people who believe in tribalism to think differently.  

America is what it is because of diversity – the ability to rise above the artificial barriers that divide us is what makes the American experience of value to me as an individual.

I am a member of the C2C initiative, and I belong to a WhatsApp group which forms part of a campaign on corporate literacy powered by the initiative called “What is a company?”.

I found the thread below of interest, the content of which I believe is worth sharing in the quest to establish a common understanding on the question of identity.

Ms Vimbai provoked the below conversation following a post which was shared in the group regarding a celebratory lunch scheduled for 20January 2021, to celebrate the inauguration of President Elect Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris.

It is with respect to the identity of Ms Harris that I thought others would be provoked to think about the human identity, its promises, and its challenges.

When I joined C2C, I was inspired by the idea that community power can be built by human beings irrespective of their ethnic profiles, or any other characteristics for that matter.

I believe that we are stronger when we learn from other winning nations, and I strongly believe that there is nothing more sacred than taking time to see the world beyond one’s place of birth – after all, we are all foreigners somewhere, and life gives us the opportunity to add value wherever we choose to live.

It is for this reason that I will give up time to study the facts and circumstances of anyone who is a pioneer in anything.

Martin Luther King Jr could dream about it, and Ms Harris has delivered on the dream, just as Barack Obama did and so, to me, there is a cause to celebrate, not commiserate.

As a South African, I am proud of my heritage and I am reminded of the then senator Biden’s refusal to accept the separation of people by race as a norm, and the role that he played in the rise against the apartheid regime. He stepped forward so that I can live in a democratic South Africa.

His presidency therefore speaks directly to me and I shudder to think that without people like Biden, I might possibly not be a free citizen of this republic.

What is significant about what Vimbai shared below, is that in her personal opinion, this historic event which is full of lessons on how to celebrate and embrace diversity as a keystone for inclusive communities, is of no importance.

So please enjoy the exchange below, as it may provoke you to shift your thinking on the possibilities that a borderless mindset can open.

[1/17, 3:52 PM] Vimbai Chiwuswa: I am just commenting that while some people are preparing and celebrating Biden  as the new President some are saying nothing like that is going to happen.

As for me I am enjoying the disruption and putting my energy into building my own home… Zimbabwe & Africa. This chaos is a God given opportunity. Those who organise themselves well will come out grand. That’s more important to me🙂

[1/17, 4:00 PM] Leonard Gwanyanya: Thank you so much for the clarification, cultivating one’s circle is always paramount in life. The rest will look after itself because it matters less

[1/17, 4:30 PM] mdmawere1: Is there any competition or both can be done concurrently?

If a dog chooses not to bark, should this stop one from walking to destination.

There are people who claim to love a nullity like Zimbabwe or Africa forgetting that both need no love or affection.

Love a person and not an idea.

There are people who love Zimbabwe so much that they left it for distant shores.

Human problems are real and need no slogans but the individual to know better.

What do we learn from Biden about the importance of values and ideals that are needed to deliver monumental change.

He was there and alert during the Reagan years when others equivocated on the sanctions question.

He stood on his feet demanding real and fundamental change to define and shape the personality and character of the SA promise.

He was then an American Senator and never pretended to be more than he was let alone to privatize the struggle for justice but played a defining role in changing the idea and ideal of the South Africa that speaks to the human spirit.

The TRIBALISM that informed the bulkanization of SA under the apartheid idea could only be altered through action.

We learn as we look back that Biden’s record stands tall as a liberator than many who escaped into the diaspora but continue to pretend that they alone know better about the conditions that exist and made them shift addresses.

Who is Harris? Is she black? Is she South Indian? Is she Jamaican? Is she American? Is she African American? Is she Indian-African-American? Is she a woman? Is she the first ???? to be VP?

No country can claim to have its inhabitants united.

We are divided but what unites us is more than what divides us.

If common sense, reason and logic prevailed in this group – what is a company – then it would not matter who chooses to give up time to celebrate the inauguration of Biden/Harris that is pregnant with many FIRSTS.

The reality is that time is squndered by choosing to sit as a judge even when this is not be necessary.

Imagine a country without the rich, would the poor be better for it? I don’t think so.

If all white people were killed, would the black people be better for it.

No one can disrupt another’s life would paying a prize for or giving up time to make a reality of it, real.

There is no opportunity that is not related to human causation and agency to make it happen.

Organization is tested at many levels even in this group, it should show through deeds and not slogans.

Faith without work is dead. There are people who think globally but fail dismally to act locally where it matters.

Life is never lived in the abstract but in a form of a reality movie.

Allow those who are in the heat to complain about it rather than choose to substitute them.

Is it not ironic that the nation-state called Zimbabwe is a creature of law like a company yet the lessons shared freely here are ignored in the interests of some patriotism that is brewed is some kind of virtual pot.

The real Patriots are in Zimbabwe where they are subjected to untold horror stories.

Life is linear and is lived by the Individual in it. It cannot be borrowed to allow another to be eloquent in describing its unlived experiences.

Hypocrisy is worse than corona.