Daughter of slave votes for Obama
109-year-old Bastrop woman casts her vote by mail.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, October 27, 2008
Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.
http://www.statesman.com/...
There have been a few "change everything" watershed events in the History of African Americans, from 1619 when a Dutch ship brought 20 African slaves to the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia to 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation legally freed all slaves in the Confederacy to 1954's Brown v. Board of Education that ended segregation.
November 4, 2008 will be the next one!
And remember, African American History is all of America's History!
+++ WOW, the Rec List! +++
The picture of Mrs. Amanda Jones
A bonus ---
A white man asked his black friend, 'Are you voting for Barack Obama just because he's black?'
The black man responded by saying, 'Why not? Hell, in this country men are pulled over everyday just cause they're black; passed over for promotions just cause they're black; considered to be criminals just cause they're black; and there are going to be thousands of you who won't be voting for him just because he's black! However, you do not seem to have a problem with that! This country was built with the sweat and whip off the black slaves' back, and now a son of Africa (the origin of those same slaves) has a chance to lead the same country, where we weren't even considered to be people, where we weren't allowed to be educated, drink from the same water fountains, eat in the same restaurants, or even vote. So yes! I'm going to vote for him! But it's not just because he's black, but because he is hope, he is change, and he now allows me to understand when my child says that he wants to be president when he grows up, it is not a fairy tale but a short term goal. He now sees, understands and knows that he can achieve, withstand and do ANYTHING just because he's black!'
From the comments, this saying is repeated...
Rosa sat so that Martin could walk.
Martin walked so that Barack could run.
Barack is running so that our children can fly.
Everytime I think of this historical day that will soon be upon us, I think of Sam Cooke's song A Change is Gonna Come with that haunting melody and words that ring true.
I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I've been running ever since
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh, yes it is
It's been too hard living
But I'm afraid to die
I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother
I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees
There's been times that I thought
I wouldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come
Oh, yes it will
The song...
A little disclosure: I am black and would have voted for Barack Obama, nevertheless, no matter his or my skin color because of who he is and what he stands for.