By Victor C Kirk
With the ascension of Congressman Cedrick Richmond to the post of special assistant to President Biden, Louisiana may repeat the influence of the early 1970’s with Russell long, Lindy Boggs among others whose presence in the nation’s capital brought considerable financial benefits to Louisiana’s bleak budget coffers. We are familiar with “access” to the President via members of the congressional delegation, but never before have we had direct access to the President as in on a daily basis. Surely with the newfound influence Louisianian’s poor and blend of international transplants will find favor with the presence of the creole king “in the house”!!.
But with the ravages of COVID-19, Mr. Richmond’s presence lends more of a psychological boost to the battered souls of color living in a “red” state. So many embarrassing moments for minorities and people of color living with a congressional core joined at the hip finally to a president linked to a failed coup at the nation’s Capital. Favored grocery store owner Rouse, a home-grown Pizza King’s dough intermixed with the kneeling of NFL protestors soured the product, and the uncertain legal consequences of a pillow magnate all trapped by a tale of woe as the insurgents climbed the steps and walls of the White House. Steps of the dirt left behind by insurgents embedded across the chest and breast of the delegation that even Clorox could not clean or disinfect! Who in Louisiana’s congressional elite will resign? Affiliation is morally a costly event.
Will we as people of color contain our excitement long enough for the ink to dry on the transfer of power documents? Will we hold our tongue when the new power elite asks what we want for our undying dedication and centuries of adopting demeaning protocols to sleep at night protecting our own wives and daughters from the wrath of the privileged? Will the souls of dead black folk revisited by storms of protest around the world finally equate to political and financial value to justice as defined in the moment of being “woke”?
For the moment we bask in the glory of a new day. Tomorrow the winds of the insurrection may not have been enough to effect real change. We wait for the next day, as usual.
