This Is Significant

I have this sign in my living room and it always seems to draw a lot of attention. I bought it many years ago at a second hand sale and framed it. At the time I got it the last thing on my mind was controversy or buying something just for attention at my house. I think I just saw the sign as something that I am connected to being African American and also being from the deep south. It's part of the history of the culture there just because these signs were so common not that long ago.

Yes, not that long ago. I grew up entirely in the post civil rights deep south but there are still a lot of people that did not. Recently mom and I were talking about politics and the Democratic and Republican candidates. As we were discussing the candidates and the upcoming Texas primary, she said something that caught me off guard. Mom said that she would really like to see Obama win and a African American as president. I suppose somebody wanting to see somebody as president because of race or gender (while not entirely a sound criteria) seems somewhat acceptable, but for mom this is something entirely different. For somebody that grew up before Jim Crow and endured all that Montgomery Alabama threw at them, somebody of my mother's generation never considered that they would live to see a legitimate or likely presidential candidate that was Black. That day is here for them. Amazing when you think about it from that perspective.