History in the making

My grandparents, who yesterday went to the polls and voted for
Barack Obama, grew up in a time and place that was so different from now. It's kind of amazing to look at my grandparents.

My grandfather was raised by an incredibly racist man. My great-
grandfather used to make people turn off the tv if a black person
came on the screen.

My grandmother is related to Nathan Bedford Forrest, the founder of
the Ku Klux Klan.

My grandparents both grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. They were
there during the Civil Rights Movement, they witnessed the
demonstrations.

My mother saw with her own eyes black people sprayed with fire hoses.

As a toddler my mother had a black nanny (Flora) who when she would
take my mom out for the day would have to somehow arrange to grab
the last seat of the "white section" for my mother and her brother
to sit on, and the first seat of the "black section" so that Flora
could sit with her hands on the kids' shoulders and pray that no one harassed her because she was so scared of something happening to the kids "because of her."

My grandparents took Flora to Florida one year and they had to get
their lunch to go so that they all could sit outside by the car with Flora to eat since all the restaurants were "whites only."

My mother grew up in segregated schools and it wasn't until her
senior of high school that her high school in Atlanta was
desegregated and ONE black boy came to her high school. One.

My 84 year old grandfather, son of a notorious racist, and my 80
year old grandmother, relative of the founder of Ku Klux Klan, both
born and raised in the deep Confederate South, voted for the first
black President of the United States of America and they did it with joy!

IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

2 hours. The time I waited in line yesterday to enthusiastically vote for Barack Obama.

16 months. The time I have spent supporting Obama and believing in hope and change.

More than 16 years. The time that has passed since I walked the halls of my high school everyday with the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speach on my folder for everyone to see; from the moment I ordered my class graduation ring with MLK on one side and world peace on the other; that I have felt inspired by and influenced by the Civil Rights Movement; that I have prayed that one day the United States of America would vote a minority into the presidency.

At this moment in time. I have never been more proud of my country.

vote!

Today I waited in line for 2 hours to do something I've been waiting to do for 16 months. I really can't complain.

I'm insanely passionate about my political beliefs. Each election year, it's a challenge for me to get along with co-workers, friends, and a few loved ones who side on the opposite side of me. Joe and I have to basically never speak about any of it. We can talk politics when things aren't so heated, but not for at least the few months leading up to an election. I have to pretend that I don't know that I have friends who are actually voting Republican, an idea that actually makes me feel sick to my stomach.

This year has been extra challenging as we face the opportunity for us to elect the first (1/2) African-American as President. It is truly something I've been praying for - for at least 18 years of my life. Wow! That makes me feel really old to say that.

I've never been more excited and cared so intimately and personally about an election in my life. It truly is an amazing moment in history.