|
Feeling nostalgic I decided to take down my box of memorabilia and find the newspaper. The State Newspaper printed on January 18, 2000- the day after MLK day in Columbia, South Carolina. On that MLK day we- black and white lovers of peace, equality and progressivism marched on the capital to tell our elected offficials that we demanded that the Racist Confederate Battle Flag be taken down from the State House Dome. The photo in the paper that following day was a giant photo, taken from the sky of a crowd of 50,000, black, white, yellow, red, man, woman, gay, straight all loved peace and each other.
I took my 7 year old daughter to her first demonstration. We arrived early at Veteran's Park where the crowd was already massive. When we began to move it took a very long time as the crowd filled the closed streets for blocks but we moved and talked and chanted and cheered and sang. My daughter and I marched in the midst of the Benedict College Gospel Choir who led the crowd around us in song. I cired like a child as I heard my beautiful, blonde haired, blue eyed little girl sing "We SHall Overcome". And when we reached the capital we could hardly see the grounds as the crowd was so large. Large, loud and in love with each other on that day.
Today- I made the mistake of suggesting that I thought that Hillary Clinton might make a better president in 2008 because of her lifetime of activism, exeperience in the electoral process and her proximity to some of the policies that I supported during Bill Clinton's administration. Now I'm told that I'm the same as a hate filled bigot. I oppose change and that I have been part of the problem all along.
I cried when I heard my daughter sing. Seems I do a lot of crying on MLK day.
|