We have a new president – but does that mean a new America?

The air of joviality following Biden’s win continues like nervous laughter but all the evidence suggests a tumultuous time awaits the US

Democrat supporters celebrate in Miami after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election (AFP via Getty Images)

The storm has arrived and it’s pleasant – so far. As it became clear that Joe Biden was going to win, thousands flocked to DC on Saturday afternoon, gathering in Black Lives Matter Plaza – or, really, wherever they could fit in the city – to celebrate. Champagne sales rocketed. Music was only halted to hear the Biden and Harris speeches. Roads were clogged well out into the suburbs, where residents partied from home late into the night, hooting and hollering and setting off fireworks.

Throughout the night, Latinx music pumped out of speakers into the quiet suburban sprawl. My phone continued to light up with messages: “Did you hear? Did you hear?” As if we didn’t all have an election tab open on our phones every waking second.

Last week, across the US, major cities braced for impact as if a storm was coming, with the capital at the epicentre. By Monday, retail stores and restaurants in the Golden Triangle of DC had boarded up their big glass windows, some for the third time this year. By Tuesday, traffic was almost nonexistent. While Covid-19 has reduced the number of cars on the streets since March, barren streets in DC – especially on a weekday – is unheard of. On Wednesday, after a night of peaceful vigil in Black Lives Matter Plaza, the barricades still blocked roads close to the White House. Some joggers and cyclists were out and the day warmed with a calm unease. People settled in for a long election.

It wasn’t until the mail-in ballots came in from Georgia and Pennsylvania, turning the tide decisively, that the end came into sight. Of course, Trump started to tweet about illegal votes as the pressure mounted. Trump supporters tried to stop the count. Biden supporters came out and circled the White House, shouting up at Trump for trying to stop the vote.  

Now, the air of joviality continues like nervous laughter. News outlets are hashing and rehashing the last few days, the last few votes, the release of the tension and anxiety. President-elect Biden has thanked and recognised Black women. Harris has become the first female vice president-elect and first Black/Mixed/Asian American vice president, which are two wholly different things.

Trump has gone quiet – relatively. He was playing golf in Virginia when the news broke. His tweets about losing and fraud have been deleted. There are no plans to meet with Biden in the Oval Office before transition. His legal teams are working on election law.

Sources inside the administration say he will concede if these legal strategies don’t work. Others say he may be forced to give a concession speech before he leaves the White House. He’s also talking of holding more rallies.

And this is what is so worrying. A man who holds the power of right-wing militias is refusing to concede. A man who still has possession of the military does not want to gracefully accept his loss and address his base. A man who said the election is fraudulent plans to hold rallies and invite those 70 million who support him.

I don’t care about the niceties and traditions that aren’t happening. I care about the next three months. Did you know Trump supporters created a caravan and drove down the Beltway in the days before the election? These caravans have also been linked to voter intimidation efforts and harassment, including trying to force Biden’s campaign bus off the road in Texas.

Did you know three members of the Proud Boys were stabbed the night of the initial election coverage? While authorities say the suspects aren’t connected to BLM, the Proud Boys have identified the suspects as Black people.

Did you know guns started to fly off the shelves days before the election? Even Walmart started to stock them again. Usually gun sales escalate because Republicans and the NRA think a Democratic president will “take their guns” or at least make them harder to get. But something more sinister may be going on this time.

Did you know 40 per cent of Americans think we are headed for civil war even if Biden wins – or especially if Biden wins? Will Trump, at one of these rallies where he will proclaim the election was fraud, say something to address his “stand by” Proud Boys and incite violence against an easy to find target like Black women? Because it is the Black woman who did not vote for him. It is a Black woman who will be vice president. It is Black women that lead Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name.

Did you know police have purchased $130,000 worth of tear gas and grenades in the capital alone to “deal with illegal rioting”? The police have been preparing for the election since June and have commented that they believe there will be unrest, no matter who wins.

Did you know police brutality hasn’t gone away? And police overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Karon Hylton-Brown, the latest name in the list, died after being hit by a car during a police chase in DC on 29 October. Family members and protestors accuse the police of unnecessarily chasing the 20-year-old black man with their vehicles while he was on an electric scooter. Witnesses said his death was an extension of harassment that black men in the neighborhood had been facing. Police in DC are not allowed to chase vehicles for traffic violations exactly because it is dangerous.

Video of body-cam footage suggests that they did chase him anyway. Hylton-Brown died on the day his daughter turned three-months-old.

We have a new president. But does that mean a new America?