By Ashleigh Fields
President Joe Biden will go down in history for many feats.
In his 36 years in the Senate, Biden developed a rapport as a political mastermind, experienced leader, and tested civil servant.
At 81 years old, he is the oldest sitting president and second Catholic president in American history, which he has long argued brings unrivaled perspective to issues as old as time.
“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing — nothing — can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” he said hoarsely to the cameras in the room, alluding to Vice President Kamala Harris, who will succeed him in the presidential race. “So, I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation.”
Earlier this year, President Biden reaffirmed this motivational push for the next generation in an emotional address to the graduates of Morehouse College a few months ago. “Whether you’re young or old, I know what endures: The strength and wisdom of faith endures. And my hope and my challenge to you is that you still keep the faith so long as you can,” he told young Black men in the audience.
Faith and Perseverance
On Pentecost Sunday, Biden vulnerably reckoned with truth, testimony, and trials. The former senator from Delaware provided insight into a personal level of humanity and humility unseen by most. His remarks made the theme of his speech clear through one simple statement: “Here’s what my faith has taught me.”
He spoke first about losing his wife and 13-month-old child in a car accident in 1972, which almost crushed his political career. The tragedy was a trying moment that would later define his faith as a single father of five. “I rushed from Washington to their bedside. I wanted to pray, but I was so angry. I was angry at God. I was angry at the world,” Biden said. Almost three decades later, he would face loss again when his 43-year-old son Beau lost his life to cancer. “On this walk of life, you come to understand that we don’t know where or what fate will bring you or when. But we also know we don’t walk alone,” he preached. “I’ve learned there is no easy optimism, but by faith — by faith, we can find redemption,” Biden said.
He spoke of the rosary passed on from his son that rests on his wrist daily as he makes painstaking decisions. While seated in the Oval Office, Biden is faced with gentle, solemn reminders of the life he wants to live and the leader he aims to be.
“The rosary on the — my wrist, the bust in my office remind me that faith asks you to hold on to hope, to move heaven and earth to make better days,” he said, referencing a sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of Bobby Kennedy near his desk.
Investing in Black Communities
At this point in the speech, after Biden dug deep into his pain, he emphasized his purpose in the presidency.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Instead of a trail of broken promises, we’re investing more money than ever in Black families and Black communities,” Biden shared, citing projects his administration has led. [/perfectpullquote]
“We’re reconnecting Black neighborhoods cut off by old highways and decades of disinvestment where no one cared about the community,” he said, referencing the Stitch project in Atlanta, a nearly $158 million transportation effort to reconnect downtown to midtown to create more access for disenfranchised communities previously divided by the highway system.
Education and Economic Opportunities
“We’ve delivered checks in pockets to reduce child, Black child poverty to the lowest rate in history,” Biden touted, noting his support for the Child Tax Credit, which he recently expanded so families could receive monthly direct deposits.
“We’re removing every lead pipe in America so every child can drink clean water without fear of brain damage, and then can’t afford to remove the lead pipes themselves.”
Biden’s interest in protecting education for children in grades K-12 and college rang clear as he announced $16 billion in funding for HBCUs this weekend. He managed to pool funds from the American Rescue Plan (approximately $4 billion), the Department of Education ($2.6 billion), federal grants/funding ($1.6 billion) and federal contracting opportunities ($150 million), in addition to various other areas.
In his speech, Biden shared, “Instead of forcing you to prove you’re 10 times better, we’re breaking down doors so you have 100 times more opportunities: good-paying jobs you can raise a family on in your neighborhood.”
To the audience, it was clear that he values Morehouse Men and the broader HBCU community. He left them with these wise words of wisdom:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”That cap on your head proves you’ve earned your crown. The question is now, 25 years from now, 50 years from now, when you’re asked to stand and address the next generation of Morehouse men, what will you say you did with that power you’ve earned? What will you say you’ve done for your family, for your community, your country when it mattered most?”[/perfectpullquote]
It was an emphatic charge for the class of 2024 as they head out into the workforce and embark upon careers across the globe.
A Vision for a More Perfect Union
As he prepares to hand over what many perceive as a more perfect union, many are reflecting on his unprecedented expansions like funding climate justice, propelling LGBTQ+ rights, providing student debt relief, and historically appointing the first Black Supreme Court Justice in Kentanji Brown Jackson — all in hopes of making the world a more welcoming place.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) said his Solar for All program was one of the “single biggest federal investments in tackling the climate crisis in our nation’s history” as she stood with him on Earth Day.
The project utilizes $7 billion to help low-income communities, 900,000 households in total, to transfer to solar-powered energy, eliminating unnecessary pollution. Illinois will receive benefits from the program through the non-profit Inclusive Prosperity Capital.
“Over just the past few months, President Biden has paused new natural gas exports, vastly expanded the conservation of our public lands in Alaska, and he has overseen tens of billions of dollars in climate investments across the United States,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
During the last year of his presidency, Biden also created and hosted the White House Water Summit and the White House Summit for Sustainable and Healthy Schools amid efforts to federally support school buses powered by electricity rather than gas.
“I’m going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence and our planet from the climate crisis. It is the existential threat,” Biden said in his recent address to the nation after stepping down.
A Call to Action
As his first and last term as president winds down, Biden again left supporters with words of encouragement.
“History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep faith and remember who we are,” he proclaimed from the Oval Office.
“We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.”
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