I went to vote at 9 am and didn’t have to deal with a line. I looked at the record as they signed my name in and I was #293 to vote at that poll location for today…my mom was #292. I think a lot of folks voted early so there weren’t any long lines at this particular location.
I was excited to see Barack Obama’s name as the first thing on the ballot. I said a quick prayer and pressed the choice for his name. I’m so excited I don’t know what time I’ll be going to bed.
My dad died exactly 12 years ago on November 4th. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday. I can’t help but think of him today as I vote. I can only imagine what he would say if he was here. I’m trying to focus on the good times and not concentrate on his last days that came and went in a blink. I learned a lot about cancer. His cancer was discovered one month and two months later he was gone. We never had time to adjust to chemo or anything. I recall the last conversations we had. I recall the look in his eyes. I recall reading to him one of his favorite passages from the Bible on that last day. I recall the tears when I left the hospital on that last night, that it would probably be the last night I saw him alive. I recall getting the phone call at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 4th saying, “Daddy’s gone.” Memories.
We are standing on the eve of seeing history made. History is made because of change. Change happens when there’s action. Let’s do our part to make change happen. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s said in 1963, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Regardless of your political affiliation, its hard to deny the fact that because of change, on November 4th, King’s dream is days away of becoming a reality. Three generations of Black women watched Barack Obama make his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. To share that moment with my mom and grandmother will forever be locked in my memory. God willing, on November 5, 2008, three generations of Black women will wake up on that day to news annoucing our first African American president.
The color of my skin shouldn’t define me
Because when I go out of this country,
American is all they see.
My Brown-sugar, Caramel, Ebony, Hershey-chocolate,
Mahogany, Mocha, Vanilla complexion
Is only an outer shell.
You have to dig Deeper,
If you want to know
What’s embedded in my mind.
My skin color might hint to my Races
Past struggles and pain,
But don’t lose the fact that we’re
Individuals and not all the same.
One day I hope we can all
Be one big happy family
In the meantime, I’ll leave a legacy
To the younger generation.
Show by example on how to get through
Life’s complications.
I will teach them how to love
Through my own interactions.
I will show them how to give
And not wait for someone’s reaction.
I will encourage them to dream and not
Let society dictate who they can be.
I will show them the benefit of believing in
Oneself, but most of all in a Higher Being.
I hope to see the manifestation of my vision
A society that’s COLOR-FREE.
I went to vote at 9 am and didn’t have to deal with a line. I looked at the record as they signed my name in and I was #293 to vote at that poll location for today…my mom was #292. I think a lot of folks voted early so there weren’t any long lines at this particular location.
