After voting in 2008, sat in my car and sobbed because I had the opportunity to vote for someone who looked like me.
Me, the granddaughter of folks who survived Jim Crow, who paid poll taxes in order to vote, who made the decision to send my mother to integrate her HS.
Me, the granddaughter of folks who survived Jim Crow, who paid poll taxes in order to vote, who made the decision to send my mother to integrate her HS.
I thought about my grandmothers, who were living at the time and how stunned they were that this option would be available in *their* lifetimes.
I thought about the work I do and how it contributes to a larger ecosystem of work that led to that moment.
I thought about the work I do and how it contributes to a larger ecosystem of work that led to that moment.
I sobbed. It was joy, sadness, pride, worry, indebtedness to the ancestors...It was more than a moment.
I sobbed again at both of the subsequent Obama inaugurations because #representationmatters.
I sobbed again at both of the subsequent Obama inaugurations because #representationmatters.
To see my country respond with Trump was a stark reminder that many in the country expect BIPOC folks to mind our social status as less than. The last 4 years has been painful to watch for many of us--certainly not all--but it has been devastating...#400Klost
Last fall, I helped my own daughter complete her voting ballot that included a Black/SE Asian woman on the top ticket. Yep, I sobbed, because I imagine that I felt a little of what my parents & grands felt in 2008. That sense of inclusion, of being seen, of being valued.
So today, after all the absurd & dangerous shenanigans, this nation will inaugurate a woman, a Black/SE woman & I am again overwhelmed w/ the feels as I watch the ceremony w/ my daughter.
*This* is America in her greatness. This country is wildly imperfect; there is oodles of work to be done to advance social justice. But today, I can just breathe a little easier. I can reflect on the efforts of my ancestors & colleagues in the struggle for justice.
I can say I survived a regime that tried to drag us back to a time when this was unthinkable. I can say that fellow citizens openly rejected that effort.
I can say that today, my daughter & I are seen & included in this democracy.
And that's pretty frigging awesome. #RepresentationMatters
And that's pretty frigging awesome. #RepresentationMatters
In the words of the flawless, goddess that is Michelle Obama, "I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback..." (BTW--her hair is laid for the gawds today!)
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