Trump’s specter hovers over inauguration

Joe Biden’s inauguration should be a moment of optimism, but we’re nowhere close to that point.

Black women, especially, aren’t in position to look ahead with hope for unity and prosperity.

Black women, as much as anyone, delivered this election to Biden, Kamala Harris and the Democrats.

That’s on a big-picture level, with Stacey Abrams delivering 16 Electoral College votes and two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia, and on the ground with huge voter turnout numbers in half a dozen swing states.

But now that a member of their group, Vice President-elect Harris, is breaking through to one of the highest seats of power in the world, Black women can’t even be there to celebrate.

And it’s Donald Trump’s fault.

He mismanaged COVID-19 so badly with his desire to “always play it down” that nearly 400,000 people have died. A disproportionate number of those deaths have been Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans.

That makes it unsafe to gather to celebrate an inauguration.

But let’s assume there were people who were willing to brave that risk by staying outside, wearing a mask and keeping six feet away from anyone who doesn’t live in their household.

That’s not a chance they can take after the Trump riot at the Capitol this month.

The National Mall has been closed to the public. There are armed guards preparing for the worst all over Washington D.C. And Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, is encouraging African Americans to keep away from the ceremony.

“I’m encouraging you to stay home for the inauguration,” Johnson said in a message posted to Twitter.

“We have much to celebrate,” he said, “particularly this year’s election cycle, where we turned out in record numbers to elect the first African American vice president of the United States.

In addition to that, in the state of Georgia, Black voters made the difference in November and during the special election.

“We have much to celebrate,” he said. “However, with COVID-19 spreading across the country and the tragic events that happened at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, it’s important for us to stay safe. So stay home, stay safe and let’s celebrate as we continue to make democracy work for all.”

Janelle Wood, of Black Mothers Forum Inc., feels a sense of loss.

“I did want to attend the inauguration this year,” she said. “What a historic moment, not only for our nation but for women and for Black women to see another Black woman get sworn in as the second-most powerful person in the world ... this was something that was very dear to us. We wanted to go, but unfortunately we can’t.

“It’s a sense of loss, where we lost out on that opportunity to celebrate together as Black women and mothers — also for our Black daughters to see someone in person that they could potentially aspire to be like and to know that there’s nothing that they can’t do . ... I feel some remorse that we can’t go. But we all understand why we can’t go.”

She wants everyone to mark the moment by watching on TV and reflecting on something big.

“Our power,” Wood said. “What a powerful statement we all just made by voting ... African American voters, people who had never voted before, people who didn’t realize they could vote, people who had to go and fight to get their right to vote back, when we all collectively came together, we pushed it over.

“That speaks volumes to us as a people, how powerful we are when we all come together.”

On second thought, maybe Joe Biden’s inauguration is a moment for optimism, even if we’re nowhere close to each other to make that point.