I have permission from Joyce Carter to post her words, the ones that my dentist shared with me today. The election of Obama is opening up hearts and discussion so we can better understand what it has been like for some and how it will be from now on.
Mom's Thoughts on Obama's Election
by Joyce Carter
My dear sons,
I sit at my computer with tears streaming down my face. Obama has been elected. I am proud, I am full of hope and I am validated. My biracial children and their very existence has been validated.
I think back to:
The parent whom upon my sharing with them that I was pregnant, responded with, "Don't worry, you might have a miscarriage."
Family members who told me I would have to move to Hawaii in order for my children to be accepted.
The friend who said it was fine to marry a black person, just don't have kids. It wouldn't be fair to the kids.
The woman at Mervyn's who came up to me and my crying toddler so many years ago and told me she was going to call the police because I had obviously kidnapped the crying child.
The librarian who helped me and my sons check our books out and proclaimed how nice it was for me to babysit those children.
The teenager who yelled at my husband and I in a park, "Nigger go home."
The preschool children who told me that my kids weren't mine because our skins were different colors.
All the people who stared, whispered, and looked the other way.
To all of these people I send a resounding "Yes we are here and yes we can!"