electing Barack Obama

I remember Barack Obama's initial run for president. So many of us focused on him, because he was black. Officially, he is of mixed race, but remember no matter what your lineage or ethnicity is, if you look black, you are treated as such.
I waited on line that cool November morning for over an hour. I had never seen that many people voting in Lakeview for anything...no school budget or local election had brought out that many people. We were so proud. Barack Obama was so smart and articulate, part Baptist preacher, part older cousin or big brother, he was just cool and made it look so easy. We all prayed (and continue) to pray for him...but I digress...so I waited, voted for him, caught the train and went to work. Got home that night, just as they were getting ready to declare him the winner. I called my Dad. He like all of us was so proud. He told me the story of how he and my mother would travel north with my sister. They would drive day and night, only stopping to use the restroom. My mom would drive at night, because a black man at night would draw more attention. My sister, still in grade school would carry the money. This was during the 50's, many years before civil rights. My parents were both college educated and teachers. They finally moved North after the principal that the school where my Dad told him was making good money for a n#gg@r. Yep. He went home, and told my Mo and sister they were moving....again, I digress. So, when he and I talked that night, he was so proud and happy. He and my Mom always told me I could be anything I wanted to. That night, was proof.