A
few weeks ago as the new President was being inaugurated, I was looking through
old pictures from the Obama administration. The one that struck me the most was
the photo of him, and thousands of others walking arm and arm across the Edmund
Pettus Bridge. This same bridge was a destination for my father and me as we
drove from North Carolina to Texas to make the move for his new job. There is
nothing quite like standing where people marched and fought for their freedom.
A place haunted by violence that was thrown on those who were only saying
“Hi,
we are humans just like you.” When I looked at the picture of Barack Obama marching
with his family and countless others, I mourned what our country was losing: a
man who has always had to prove himself, not the new man coming in who was
given anything and everything. The resilience that is gained through fighting
for a cause is greater than I have ever truly known, you fight and march and
sing and cry just hoping someone with authority will hear these cries and come
to your aid. But this march on this day in this picture was filled with
abundant hope that could not be contained by anything, not even the road they
were on. As they marched on and sang songs to elevate their message nothing
could stop them from taking one step after another, inching their way closer to
the future that they so craved. A desire that ran from their heart down to
their feet, these men and women know fury, and they know they have been
scorned. Those who could lash out with violence but instead choose to walk in
peace, in solidarity. Alone, they are mere mortals but together they are
immortalized but what they stand for. Something that will outlive even the
youngest of the marchers. That is true sacrifice, they leave a legacy. “Planting
a seed in a garden they may never get to see.” Hats off to them and abundant
praise for what they did for you and me, creating a future that is better than
what they left behind as they walked and walked inching their way away from the
oppression that has plagued so many of their lives.
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