Well, friends, in the past 2 days, I have celebrated Diwali at the White House and observed the appointment of Rishi Sunak as the U.K.’s first Prime Minister of color. You can hear President Biden capture the news here.
No matter how crowded the reception was on Monday night, how conflicted I feel about Democrats and their inability to cultivate a winning strategy that centers people of color and especially Black women, and how frustrated I am about our long-overdue immigration overhaul, I know that it matters to be at the White House along with hundreds of other South Asians celebrating our heritage. The danger is to equate this access with equity. That’s a mistake we’ve made before at the national level, with the Obama administration. And one we’ve made in our states and cities with other elected officials. Those of us with access have a special responsibility to push for equity.
Which brings me to Rishi Sunak, the new “minority” poster boy of Britain’s Conservative party. He brings to mind Bobby Jindal, former governor of Louisiana, horrific shame of most progressive South Asians. He is still making the headlines for his poor choices as Governor, most recently for slashing jobs at the state’s child welfare agency. Newly appointed PM Sunak has now appointed Suella Braverman, who in addition to having resigned last week after breaking a ministerial code, is known to be both anti-migrant and anti-welfare. Is your head spinning yet? If ever there was evidence that identity doesn’t inform ideology, here it is. Sunak and Braverman will not use their access to fight for equity. Which is our reminder that representation is, at best, the floor, not the ceiling.
So, as a no. 1 immigrant daughter, I am sharing my photo from the White House, with joy and with caution. Gathering with friends and colleagues is not the destination, just a part of the journey for our collective liberation.
So much truth here. Framing representation as the floor and not the ceiling is key to never settling for the lowest common denominator.