May 14, 2022 March for Choice
Today was a sunny and warm May Saturday. I dusted off the button I wore 50 years ago in my first protest marches, and put it on my hat. I had saved the button for half a century, thinking that my kids would be interested in a relic of the ancient, restrictive past. I never dreamed that I would be wearing it again for the same reasons that I had worn it 50 years ago, in 1972, to show my support for privacy and for choice.
I hoped that millions of people would show up in Legislative Plaza; not wanting to have to deal with my car, I chose to hire an Uber to go there and to return home. Both drivers were Black men; our conversations were interesting, open and pleasant.
The driver who drove me to the March was about my age (71), with a neatly trimmed white beard. He was interested in how my day was going, and I told him what I was going to do. One thing led to another, and we talked about many things, including parents and children and our families. Hie said that he first met this father when he was 17 as his father had substance use disorder, and wasn’t present in his early life.. As a result of this family situation, he grew up living with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. His great-grandmother had been enslaved, and told him stories about cotton. I was stunned to realize that this living reminder of chattel slavery was not as long ago as some folks would like me to believe. My own great-grandmother was a young girl during the Civil War, and had to start teaching school at age 15, because the Yankees had burned the family farm and she had to earn money. The Civil War is not so long ago. Our ancestors are still present in our lives.
The driver on the return trip was in his late 20s. We talked about the March, and speculated on reasons that the US is such a mess. We agreed that folks preferring to live comfortably, even when they aren’t happy, is a barrier to change. Change means being uncomfortable. One can choose to stay comfortable, and avoid working for change. Sometimes the situation can become untenable that one is driven by discomfort to do something.
He had lived in different parts of the US, as he works remotely. I suggested he travel, since he can work anywhere. I said that if I was Black and young, that I would like to spend time in an African country for the experience of living in a place where everyone was like me. He liked that idea, and said that he’d heard that Ghana was welcoming. He said that I had got him to be thinking differently.
These two brief contacts are highlights of this week. We can have influence, maybe not on our nation, but definitely on the parts of the world we encounter. I am grateful.
