Today We Grieve Soon enough we figure out what the election means for accessibility and other issues we cherish

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This is an article Lainey wrote the day after Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election for president in the United States. Lainey is usually an optimistic person. Today she cannot be optimistic. She is sad and shocked by the results. She is not yet able to write about the impact of the election on disability rights or digital access.

Kamala Harris gave a wonderful concession speech. In it she said we must not despair, and it is time to continue the work for justice. Lainey is taking time for sadness, but knows Kamala is right.

Smiling Black/Brown woman in business attire (Kamala Harris) with a United States flag in the background.

So many swirling emotions today. November 6, 2024. The day after the United States elected its first felon, a man who is transparent and loud in his cruelty, racism, and disdain for women and their bodies.

A man who sees nothing wrong with mocking disabled people. Who praises and advances policies that hurt immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, the environment, civil rights, the health and safety of the nation’s people, education, and world peace and safety.

America knew who he was. A majority of voters (and the undemocratic electoral college) made him president.

I have long identified as an optimistic person. In my book and talks I frequently quote Helen Keller. The great deafblind writer, activist, and global speaker consistently told her audiences and readers that nothing can be accomplished without hope and optimism. (The American Foundation for the Blind has gathered Keller’s optimism quotes here.)

I have seen optimism not only as a personality trait, but as a strategy to advance accessibility and other pressing issues. I call it grounded optimism — not just wishful thinking, but a positive belief in desired outcomes grounded in what’s been successful before.

This election I was optimistic (so hopeful!!) that the country would elect its first woman president. And that its first woman president would be Black, Brown, and a promoter of joy. A woman who proudly talked about her to-do list, just as her opponent threatened the country with an enemies list. I was so sure yesterday would make my optimism real.

I was wrong.

Today my go-to “stay on the sunny side,” “celebrate small steps” attitude that has served me so well in advocating for digital accessibility over the last three decades is not cutting it.

Today I grieve. Feel frustrated and sad. And mostly shocked at who and what the United States has become.

I underestimated the racism and sexism of the majority of American voters.

And I overestimated the power of a well-run campaign fueled by enthusiasm, hard work, and respectful, smart leaders. A campaign grounded in basic issues like fairness, middle-class success, gun safety, climate protection, civil rights, affordable housing and healthcare, and more.

Issues that should have appealed to the vast majority of Americans.

Today (and for more than today!) I can’t gather my thoughts about what’s next for digital accessibility. I can’t think about the election’s impact on the strong legal foundation that supports disability inclusion and accessibility in the United States.

And I definitely don’t want to speculate about which parts of Project 2025 will be enacted and when and what that will mean for disabled people and digital inclusion.

There will be time for that. Today I despair. And I do so in community with millions of people here and around the world who are despairing too. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me today. Community helps.

And while today is hard, in the near future I hope I can take these words from Kamala Harris’ beautiful concession speech to heart:

And so to everyone who is watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.

…..Here’s an adage an historian once called a law of history, true of every society across the ages. The adage is only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service. Kamala Harris November 6, 2024 concession speech

May we see the light, may we feel the light, may we be the light.

Listen to or read a transcript of Harris’ full concession speech.