MAKING STRIDES AS A COUNTRY TO EMBRACE DIVERSITY

Readers of a certain age might remember the “Wayback Machine.” It was invented by Mr. Peabody, a genius canine, for his boy, Sherman, in a cartoon that aired on “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.” At Peabody’s direction, Sherman would set the Wayback controls to a certain time and place of historical importance. The pair would then step through a door to be instantly transported there.

I just had my own “wayback” journey — to the summer of 2020. It was a time of anguish, as we witnessed the murders of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and other Black men at the hands of White police officers. Our country erupted in coast-to-coast protests, with tens of thousands of Americans turning out to express their belief that Black lives indeed matter.

It feels way back because of the progress we’ve made since then toward becoming a country that embraces diversity (and may even want to achieve racial parity). It’s as if we took a long, hard look at ourselves and really didn’t like what we had become.

Don’t misunderstand. We still have a long way to go. But consider all that has happened since last summer:

• On Nov. 3, 2020, more than 81 million Americans elected Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian woman, as vice president of the United States. Turnout well surpassed expectations, as our year of reckoning with policy brutality and racial injustice undoubtedly drove even more people to vote.

During her victory speech, Harris gratefully acknowledged the role played by generations of Black women in the fight for equality, liberty and justice for all. Harris said, “(These) women are too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy. I stand on their shoulders.”

• With the recent inauguration of Harris and President Joe Biden, our country will be served by the most diverse Cabinet in history (assuming Senate confirmation) when minority and female representation are considered. Biden pledged to create a Cabinet that looks like America. Of his 15 appointments, six are people of color, five are women. His picks include three Latinos and the first Native American, Deb Haaland, who will serve as secretary of the Interior. It’s a cause for cheer: The necessary task of rebuilding trust in government is aided when people can look to its leaders and see themselves.

• And while it was sadly overshadowed by the Capitol riots, voters in Georgia elected two new senators, the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in a runoff election. Warnock will represent the Peach State as its first Black senator. Ossoff will be its first Jewish senator.

Their elections were made possible by the actions of Black women, as organizers and voters. Stacey Abrams, a Black woman who lost the 2018 Georgia governor’s election to Republican Brian Kemp, has been credited for her ground mobilization and voter registration efforts in the state. Her work paid off: It’s widely acknowledged that strong turnout among Black voters powered Warnock and Ossoff to their runoff victories. There was also a marked increase in support from Hispanic voters.

These Georgia wins were a tribute to congressman John Lewis, who passed away last July. Warnock served as Lewis’ pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Ossoff worked in Lewis’ office as a summer intern.

I had the good fortune to meet Lewis in 2014, when the National Conflict Resolution Center honored him with our National Peacemaker Award. I was touched by his humility.

When I picked up Lewis at the airport, he insisted on sitting in the back seat of my car because his chief of staff had longer legs. At a gathering of students, Lewis knelt down to answer the question of a fourth-grader so he could be eyeto-eye with the boy. Throughout the day, and at the award dinner that night, Lewis never spoke about himself. It was always about the struggle for equality and inclusivity.

Lewis would be proud of the strides that our country has made since last summer, with the elections of Harris, Warnock and Ossoff. He would applaud Abrams for her tireless work. But he would caution us against complacency. As Lewis said, “Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”

Just maybe, the Wayback Machine will mark 2021 as the year in which our country turned a corner on its way to becoming a more just, multiracial democracy. Let’s hope.