Dear boys,

On November 7th, 2020, at long last, the election came to an end. Joe Biden was declared the winner after key battleground states finished counting their mail-in ballots. It was not a landslide victory, but the win was nonetheless historic, with Biden winning over 78 million votes — the most in American history. Voters turned out in numbers never seen before and during a pandemic no less! Not only that, Kamala Harris will be the first woman — and the first woman of color — to serve as Vice President of the United States.

Cash and Grey, there are so many reasons I feel joy and relief. Most of all, the end of four years with a leader who exacerbated racial tensions and whose hate-speech divided our country. A president who put our democracy in jeopardy, undermined the Black Lives Matter movement and threatened to let New York City, his hometown, fend for itself during this pandemic.

For the majority of America — and certainly for our household — policy was not on the ballot, but rather character. As the mother of boys of color in this country, trying to teach decency, equity, empathy, inclusion, and sadly, preparation, I knew it was crucial you stay up to watch Biden’s national address; to hear what a true leader sounds like. In this time of great suffering, when our country is deeply divided, we desperately need a leader who can restore hope. Hope for an American story that, as President-elect Biden said, “is real for everybody — no matter their race, their ethnicity, their faith, their identity, or their disability.”

I love you boys. Always and forever. On this day, as we listened to Biden’s speech together, I wept as my hope was restored.