Forty years ago today I was 14 years old living in a country that had recently lost a President, was about to lose another leader, soon another. All by assassination.
The phone rang and it was my Grandmother. She lived in Washington D.C., a resident there for 21 years. She was crying, said the streets of the city had gone baron and buildings were on fire. She was worried that she would not be able to get out safely. There was knock on her door, she said hold on. A moment later she returned explaining that she was on her way to be with us, that she was leaving the city. A friend she had known for most of those 21 years was at her door, he had come to take her to a safe place.
She grabbed a few things and a blanket pausing at the front door. He wrapped the blanket around and over her head and they headed out to the car. They managed to get a few blocks before running into a small crowd gathered on the street. There were baseball bats, rocks, a lot of foul language, broken glass, and a hasty get-a-way. After that he told my Grandmother she had to get down behind the front seat and hide under the blanket. His name was Franklin Howard... a black man. He risked his life to save the life of an old white woman he called his friend.
Forty years ago today America changed, Bobby Kennedy gave what was considered by many to be his best speech, and there were riots in almost every major city. The country dealt with and worked its way through troubled times. Now today, we are about to nominate a Black man to run for the office of President. And make no mistake, Clinton will not win, and Obama will be our next President. McCain has a chance you say! Well, the dem's could nominate Alfred E. Newman and they'd still win the White House. Bush and his neocon goodfellas have laid waste to the Republican party as well as the Constitution and it will take years if not decades for American's to recover.
Forty years ago today Martin Luther King gave his life for what he believed in... today his dream is alive and well, and despite what you hear on the news about how bad things are, there have been worse times. No, I'm not an Obama supporter but I do believe in this country and its ability to survive. If a black man gets the call, I'm okay with that. And if she were still alive, so too would be my Grandmother.
~A
