Trenise Ferreira-Sabin

Because I have no desire to relive the horrors of the past

As a Black woman, I never thought I would have an opportunity to vote for a woman who looks like me—and, equally important, for someone who has had similar middle-class life experiences as me. It’s not lost on me that the women in my family who grew up picking cotton in the 1950s never fathomed that a moment like this could happen in their lifetimes, either. But it has happened, and it is my great privilege to support Kamala Harris’s bid for the presidency. 

She and Tim Walz have a vision for the US that aligns with my own: where an economy works for middle- and working-class Americans; women and girls have bodily autonomy; big corporations and the wealthiest among us pay their fair share of taxes; and people have more rights to life and liberty than guns do. We want an America that uplifts its people and revels in the promise of possibility and progress.

Most importantly, we want an America that doesn’t engage in fear and hatred. I don’t want to go backward in history and relive an America that some deem “great.” That America—built by my ancestors for free—was not created for people who look like me, and I have no desire to relive the horrors of the past. 

The prospect of a Kamala Harris presidency fills me with hope instead of dread. Pride instead of embarrassment. Optimism instead of disillusionment. And I want to keep those feelings going by helping Kamala Harris win in November.

I don’t yet have children, but if I do, I will be very proud to tell them that I voted for the candidate who helped ensure that they have a future in which they, too, can thrive. 

Trenise Ferreira-Sabin is a proud voter and kidlit author of picture books, chapter books, and middle grade novels.