A metaphorical inaugural of ‘coloured’ fairytales

Kamala Harris’ arrival on the scene extends this fairytale to South Asia and the Caribbean.

The inauguration of an American president is usually a benign theatricality for the common people around the world who consume American democracy but do not vote in it. Few inaugurations, however, evoke a profound sense of participation and jubilation. Commemorating Barack Obama’s inaugural in 2008 was certainly a larger-than-life event not only for those physically present in Washington, DC but everyone else who joined the chorus. For the entire global fraternity of people of colour who woke up on November 6, 2008, to witness the major paradigm shift in American biopolitics, that was a finale of sorts of racial justice long due.