Obama wrapping it up: My grandparents would have been so proud

Last night was huge. Huge. Not only did Obama trounce Clinton in North Carolina, but also he closed the gap to less than 2 points in Indiana (props to Gary!). Clinton won by less than 20,000 votes, and many are attributing this to stupid Rush Limbaugh and his stupid “Operation Chaos” (can we just call it “Operation Dumbo Drop” from now on?).

Now in no way am I discrediting or marginalizing all the non-Black (ha, such a funny designation) men and women who turned out and voted for Obama—but from a personal perspective, Andrew Sullivan's post this morning, Black Voters Did It, and the accompanying photo (shown right, photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty) brought a tear to my eye.

I think of my late grandmother, who, at 81 years of age, stood in line for 4 hours to view Rosa Park’s body rest in state. And my late grandfather, who served his country in WWII and then came home to D.C., where he married my grandmother, fathered two beautiful girls, and worked for the government as a postman so that he could help send his daughters to college (my grandmother, for her part, got a Master's Degree in French and worked as a teacher).

My African-American grandparents grew up poor in the Jim Crow south, where discrimination against Blacks was written into law. Yet they still fought for and won a piece of the American Dream--because they worked hard, loved their family, and actually believed in the future of their country (I can't fathom how they mustered up this sentiment in the face of such discrimination. But they did. With pride).

(pictured, my grandparents dining at a cafe in 1941).

I soooo much wish they could be alive today to see this presidential race. I wish it deep in my heart, in my dreams even. I wish I could share this moment with them.

Obama and Michelle would make them so proud.

Photo via The Modesto Bee
Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: Black Voters Did It

Comments

[Stephanie Rogers]

OK...here you are with another heartfelt and insightful post, and I'm going to make a rather shallow comment, but here goes:

OMG, I love that pic of your grandparents! So stylish! And Grandpa had *great* cheekbones. That's a keeper.

But yes, in all sincerity, I imagine they would have been thrilled by the current race :)

[RyanB]

I knew you'd dig the style, Steph :) Not at all shallow. I mean... the hat! The gloves! The uniform! The photo kills me every time I look at it.