Hope We Can Believe In

As I reflect on yesterday, the wonderful Thanksgiving meal shared with family and friends, I think about our recent historical election of our first black president.

For those of you who care to read my blogs, you know what a supporter of Barack Obama I am. You have probably received countless emails from me over the campaign urging your participation in not only voting but becoming active in your community to motivate others.

I haven't taken the time to sit down and write about what this has meant to me, and what it means for all of us.

As many Americans did, I chose to vote early. The lines in Georgia were extremely long. Everyone was energized to get out to choose their candidate. People were polite in the lines, though no one discussed which candidate they were voting for or any of the political issues.

About half way through my 3 1/2 hour wait, my feet and back began to ache. I read a book off and on to keep me distracted. Even though I had some doubt that my state would win for Barack, I couldn't give up. During that three hour period many thoughts traveled through my mind. One of my first thoughts was about my role as facilitator for discussions on race while working at Emory University.

While leading those talks, I was amazed at the antipathy many of my counterparts shared regarding the struggles of black people in America. It awed me that there were students from Asia that didn't believe that slavery in the U.S. actually existed! I recalled being disappointed in the anger I heard from some of the white men. Their indignation palpable in the room. I felt disheartened by some of the elder southern white people that were bitter about carrying the burden of their ancestors past.

I'd come on board the project full of naivity and vigor, certain I would be able to effect the lives of those who participated. I left my post feeling cynical and hopeless about the prospect of change. I am ashamed to admit that I also left with a new distaste for white people in general. Wishing I could erase their blood from my own DNA. Something I had never felt before, and am happy to say now that I have recovered from.

While admiring the great pine trees of Georgia, my mind wandered to the movie Rosewood about a small town in Florida whose predominately black community was devasted by hatred and murder in 1923, Emmit Till brutaly beaten to death in 1955, the four little girls in the church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

I thought about our dear Martin Luther King Jr. his tenacious courage, his wife Coretta and her stoic support. I visited reels of tape in my mind showing black men and women hosed down in the streets, stomped on, billy clubbed, spat upon. I reflected on John Lewis and Andy young living here in my city still standing up for all of us.

I thought about an exhibit I saw and a panel discussion I sat in on a few years ago called "Without Sanctuary". It was a photo and propaganda display of the lynching of black people in America. One of the persons photoed, shares the same name as my grandmother, Helen Nelson. That exhibit was something I will never ever forget. You could feel their spirits, smell their flesh...it was unbelievable. I wrote in a book that was there for personal reflections which is now part of the King Library. I hope someday in the not too distant future, a student will read my musings and imagine what a terrible place America used to be.


As my toes begged for relief my mind drifted to the middle passage where men and women jumped overboard slave ships choosing certain death over a ravaged life. I heard the moans and groans of those who endured the heat and the stench in the belly of the ships when the first African spirituals were passed along without words. And I said to myself, "It has come full circle. An African man will be president."

On November 4th I wasn't with my fellow supporters, did not get to revel in the joy and excitement of the crowds. Though my wireless phone lit up with text messages and phone calls, I was not among the celebration.

I was sitting in the family room of my fathers home in the very important electoral state of Pennsylvania. He was recovering from a recent illness. He sat in disbelief. There was no smile on his face. He was annoyed with the bells and whistles of my phone. He had only hours before, warned me that my exhuberance would be met with disappointment. And I was a little ticked off. I wanted my moment in history with the rest of the world.

But the next day, after the news had sunk in. After dad had seen that no secret society of white men was going to steal this from us. He did smile. And he said to me, "We got a black man for president! And I got to see it come true last night with my daughter."

So yeah, I missed out on the fellowship of the believers, but what a moment that was for my dad. What affirmation of the divine revelation I felt back in June when I wrote "A Dream Come True"!

The old fold is dying off. The generations of hatred and division are disappearing. There are a new people in this country who want to move forward. There are a new people in this country that want America to mean something good again. There are a new people in this country who have loudly said no more. Half breeds, pure breeds and your breeds have overwhelmingly declared,It ends with us!

Does that mean racism is over? Hardly. Is this a cure for all of the oppression black people still experience in 2008? Absolutely not. But once again God has shined on the United States of America and the world, and given us hope we can believe in!

That's melavision. What's yours?

Putting It All In To Perspective

You know there is so much going on in the world today. Literally just this day alone, the world market has bounced back with an 888 climb in the Dow. Whatever that means, I know its good. Christians are being tortured and murdered in India. The war still rages on in Iraq. Crazy Kim Jong II has recovered from his stroke and is still ruling North Korea. There are floods in Yemen, Prince Charles is worried about the climate, while thousands of people are running from rebels in the Congo. Hundreds of thousand of people across the U.S. are waiting in voting lines up to 12 hours long for this historical election, with racial and ideology division brewing hatred and fear.

It all sounds pretty troubling. The economy is at an all time low and if you haven't been downsized, retired early or fired you are probably worried it's just around the corner. Your grocery bills are too high, the price of gas to fuel your car has finally gone down, but the price to heat your home has gone up. You have auto repairs and medical bills and your water heater went out. Your oldest child or your youngest child just got in to some minor trouble with the law, or they got a bad grade in school. The price of day care is eating up your pay check. The lists can go on and on.

And its all about power and money.

As we worry over all of those cares this week, one of our celebrated young women, Jennifer Hudson has lost almost her entire family in a heinous crime. Mother,Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and 7 year old nephew Julian King, have been violently murdered. Jennifer has realized the start of a budding and brilliant career, is newly engaged to a handsome and successful man, admired by thousands of fans, and yet I'd bet she would give it all back to have those three people alive and well. Three trips, in less than a week to the coroners office to identify the remains of her loved ones. Can you imagine?

When you look at the tragedy happening in this young woman's life and that of her sister Julia Hudson, doesn't it make your problems seem a little small today?

Have you told the people in your life that you love them? Are you with the one you love or wasting years with someone you are entirely incompatible with? Have you kissed your child, your mother or your brother today? Have you taken a niece or a nephew for some special time alone? When is the last time you spoke to your grandparents? Have you hugged your dad lately?

As I pray for Jennifer and Julia I am humbly reminded that we are all mortal. We get so caught up with the cares of our immediate world and the world at large that we forget it is all temporary. Those frightening headlines and bills and career dilemmas seem so monumental. We strive to achieve or to get by, exhaust so much energy in worry or competition. And yet no matter what our level of success or burdens, the only, truly important thing, is family.

That's melavision what's yours?

Nasty Politics

The race for the White House is getting really nasty. The hatred of racism is rising and fear is rampant. The truth about our history and the prejudice that so many of us have either forgotten or refuse to believe still exists is daring to resurface.

Those of us who are Christian believers, though not right wingers and misguided fundementalist realize that these times have been predestined to happen and for a specific purpose.

I believe one reason is because of the antipathy of our black youth. With the world influence of the hip hop culture, many have grown to believe that racism isn't dangerous, that it does not effect them. This is a wake up call for a whole generation of black people who neither appreciate, understand or care about what our ancestors and people just 40 years ago went through to get us the freedoms and benefits that we experience today.

As I read the newspapers and watch the political shows and browse the internet, there are numerous examples of the very racism that lynched so many of our young black men. The same racism that hosed down civil rights workers, or killed Emmit Till or even Martin Luther King Jr. The same racism that brought heroin to Harlem and malt liquor to all of the inner cities and crack cocaine.

Many black americans are getting angry and are starting to trade tirades and rants of violence and hatred. I say we are bigger than that, better than that. While our youth are suddenly faced with the ugliness of the past, with clear and present danger, let us take this opportunity to train them in the way they should go.

Let us not stoop to the level of those whose ignorance blinds them and fills them with hatred. Let us instead endeavor to take the high road as our leader has. We should not retort insult for insult but rather focus on our unity. It is the unity and hope of a people that will persevere. Please be mindful that our brother is the descendant of both African and Anglo heritage and we should be respectful of that.

The fear of those whose ignorance insites them, is real and powerful, but there is more power and more strength in hope and faith. So let us rather be shining examples of the man who has decided to follow his calling in spite of the danger, the hatred and the fear, to be a beacon of light. A pathway of change for a better America and a better world.

A DREAM COME TRUE

When I was a little girl, in about the third or fourth grade, an older Italian boy called me a half breed. I quickly yelled "Am not!" And when I went home that afternoon I asked my mother what a half breed was.

It was my first experience with racism. My mother handled me so well that I wasn't even aware that it was a racist remark until years later. Many in the small town I grew up in thought my father was white. I'm pretty sure he does have more European heritage than African(if any), but he and his family are unmistakably black. They might not look like it, but they definitely have felt black their entire lives.

My parents ran the local branch of the NAACP. They were absolutely Pro Black but they were never anti white. There were no ugly stories told in our home about white people and we were not raised to feel less than white people. It never even occurred to us that there was a difference, unless someone else bought it to our attention. I thought I could grow up to be anything.

Still, on the day after history as Barack Obama makes his debut as the proposed Democratic candidate for the President of the United States, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of awe. Last night was a watershed moment for me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I listened to him speak. I was filled with such pride. I felt the power of being part of a moment in time. A sense of belonging to something supernatural. It was like a holy experience.

I certainly felt that God has his hand on Barack and this nation. That the people of the United States, those who were Black and White, Latino and Asian, Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus all together as one, cheering in the crowd for hope, was bigger than the man himself. That is a holy experience!

I have felt the consciousness of being a black woman since living in the south my adult life. I have both witnessed and experienced blatant racism in the work place, on vacations, in restaurants. I live in a city that is so widely diverse yet socially segregated. I was beginning to become cynical, hard hearted. I was losing the hope my parents gave me as a child.

I participated as a facilitator for discussions on race at Emory University a few years ago. The history and literature I read, the documentaries I viewed opened my eyes to things I was completely naive about. When my term as facilitator was complete I was left with a sense of frustration and sadness. I didn't think my fellow participants who were not black got it. No matter what we shared, how distinct the proof, it was clear to me that many of them left with the same biases and antipathy they arrived with.

And then last night. A bright shining beam of hope called Barack Obama.

The hope that the days of racial division and stereotyping are short lived is an exhilarating notion. This nomination is proof that we are on our way. That the broken backs of our ancestors, the bloodied bodies and terrorized men and women of the civil rights era have not suffered in vain.

Barack is a formidable man. He is charismatic, extremely intelligent, eloquent and honest. Oh and so good looking. But more than that I believe he is chosen.

He is just a few short years older than me, is a "half breed", probably was called names just like I was. He had to overcome huge obstacles. And here he is today. Our man. Our hero. Our brotha! Let us not forget that his wife Michelle is most definitely a true sistah too. All her style and grace, and fire. Her wonderful enigmatic strength clothed in poise and femininity that surely pushed him along the way to reach higher and dig deeper.

In August when he goes to Denver for the Democratic National Convention it will be the anniversary of the March on Washington and the famous Martin Luther King speech "I have a dream..." Political pundits and news commentators have been calling it a coincidence. I think not. I believe it was planted in a dream and divinely ordered for just this place in time.

While the United States has experienced the most agonizing eight years of recent history, just like a laboring woman, it is time for birth. The birth of a new nation. Let it be, O God, let it be.

That's melavision. What's yours?

2008 Presidential Campaign


Update - Been Away too long

3:00 in the morning and I cannot sleep.
Wrote a poem on my Helium account on depression. Such an ugly thing.
Thinking about how long its been since last posting here and wondering why all of us writers are so dang crazy(smile). It seems the creative mind is also a wandering mind....hard to stay focused on one project before we are excited about another.
I have abandoned so many of my babies....

But, I think I would be remiss, if I did not comment on this wonderful historical moment in time that we are all experiencing here in the good ole' US of A. I can tell you that I honestly don't think I ever contemplated a black man for president...not really. As much as I love my white folks...I know its hard to tell by my writing sometimes, but I do love my white folk (humor people), I never thought our country would embrace a black man in this way. I am overjoyed to see the unity Barack is bringing to our nation. And the hope. Because I have lost a lot of hope over the past few years.

I watched two presidential elections get stolen and for the past eight years I have been convinced that we are owned by a super world mafia and G.W. is the lieutenant. He does what the boss says and if the rest of us don't listen.....and if there is some collateral damage to keep the business running...oh well. But what do I know?

.....Anyway even though I think we have a really scary, crooked government, I am feeling this little burn of hope stirring up in side of me. Just the realization that we have a black man and a woman on the ticket and one of them will definitely be the democratic candidate is something for us all to celebrate!

I love the Clinton's. Bill is just so damn sexy....yeah I said it. He has that x factor that makes you believe he is talking to you. I know he has offended many people on this campaign trail but life was good with the Clinton's and I'd like life to feel good again. He has so much class too....okay, maybe poor judgment sometimes with women, but I haven't met a man yet who hasn't been literally blown away from his good common sense. The tale of two brains. We all know it.

Still, my personal experience with Bill was so impressive, he is a class act to me. He knows how to connect to people, all people and I truly believe that is what made him such an effective president.

Last year when my grandmother was turning 100(and she just turned 101 btw), I sent a request to President Clinton for he and his wife to attend our celebration. I sent one to Barack too. What I got from Bill was a hand signed birthday greeting with the official presidential seal for my grandmother, and a personal phone call from his staff to me, to congratulate our family on this milestone, but graciously decline my invitation. That's a class act to me.

I never did hear back from Obama.

Yet, on election day when I got ready to touch the screen to cast my vote, my finger went straight to Obama! It even surprised me. As a black woman, ( who probably has less African blood in me than Barack) I wanted to vote for the woman but also felt an obligation to vote black. Hey, I am being honest here folks. If you are either of these identifiers I am certain you felt the same dilemma....go on, admit it.

Still when it came down to it, I had to vote with my conscience. I love Ms. Hillary. She is one tough cookie and so intelligent. She had a vision for herself and has stuck to it despite anything that life has thrown her. Do ya'll know how difficult that is? She has the connections and inner understandings of what really goes on at the White house. I think she would be an awesome president...really I do.

But, I also think the same things I love about her, are the same things that might keep her from being able to make the changes we need in America. I think every good old boy aka the federalist in America and every crazy misogynistic leader in foreign territories would fight her tooth and nail.

With all that said I grope with the idea of Barack taking on all of the mess G.W. and his administration have made, and a part of me wonders if he is naive or if I am.

What I mean is, does he really understand how corrupt our government is and still think he will be able to change it? Or am I so naive to think he doesn't know how corrupt our government is and that he doesn't know exactly what he is getting himself in to?

What I do believe, is that our country is more willing to look at Obama's white genes and say, "well he's not really black"...than accept a woman. Especially a smart, tough cookie like Hillary.

So, during the Georgia election I voted for Obama with hope for change. I am still hoping today and hoping sometime in my life, race and gender won't matter.

And that whole not really black thing is so stupid...(trust me, as a light complected black person I have had those words said to me by both black and white people....we are a category all to ourselves in the eyes of others)..... 'cause most of us light bright and nearly white are unmistakably and sometimes radically black!


I know the pundits and political strategist have given us cause to pause with the Rev. Wright drama, but I think even most white people understand that folks have a special relationship with our pastors. We don't agree with or believe in everything they say. We even cringe sometimes or gasp in church at their comments....and we go home and pray for them. We chew the meat and spit out the bones.

Barack is the type of man who would not dare run from an inflammatory pastor, but would rather stay to influence change. He's like the black people who stayed in the south after freedom from slavery, (and before). They could have run to the North and sought out a better way of living, joining in the white groups who believed in humanity if not equality. Yet, they stayed behind. Some even fought for the land they worked on as they endured to change the minds of the people they knew were so very wrong. Many people can't understand that, but many people can and I think in spite of all the coverage the media and the republicans will give to this issue, it will only strengthen those of us who are tired of the division and want a truly united America.

Whichever way it goes, we are all fortunate to be witnesses to this historical moment in time. May you do the right thing and participate in the process.

God Bless!
That's melavision. What's yours?

From:

Harris, Tracey (tracey.harris@twcable.com)

Beautifully written, and well said….thanks for sharing.