I keep getting encouraged to write on here and so I will. I’ve done this before but without any introduction. I’m soon to be retired, and I know for many young people on here I am the problem. Another black woman who will vote for Hillary Clinton. Growing up, my family was not poor, but we weren’t wealthy either. My father was a butcher. My brother worked for a lot of restaurants when I was young and having food come into our house from their jobs kept us all well fed.
Kansas City was different when I was young. I think young people really miss out on all of this with cell phones and internet. We talked to each other, face to face a lot. My grandson barely leaves his room sometimes.
I completed my college degree when black women weren’t being considered for higher education. I worked for all of my life for three employers. All schools and all very rewarding.
Over the years, I’ve voted in a lot of elections. I know what typical politicians look like. They promise everything and deliver little. They would go to Jefferson City and disappear. It’s easy to promise the moon and stars and not deliver.
I have been a strong supporter of my representative, Emanuel Cleaver, who has been not only a good representative, but a good man.
In 2008 Representative Cleaver supported Hillary over Obama. He was pressured by outsiders because he was black committed to Hillary. White party leaders went on the radio and accused him of being an Uncle Tom. He was harassed everywhere he went and people implied that he wasn’t entitled to his own opinion. Sound familiar?
I supported Obama in 2008, but I would have never said those things to the Representative Cleaver. I asked him why he had chosen to support Hillary. He told me that Hillary had been more than a good friend in DC. Very few people in government understood right wing hatred like Hillary, but she did and she was tough enough to take it. Despite all that hatred she never gave up and never stopped working, and that is what won him over.
When I listen to Hillary, I think of the smartest students I have known. Students who are so smart that other students hate them just for showing up.
I voted for President Obama and would do so again if I could. This year, I don’t need lofty promises. I need someone who is committed to protect President Obama’s legacy. I need to believe that I am electing the person who can endure the lions den.
Well meaning Democrats can have big ideas about changing the world. Bless their heart, they believe every word. I believe them to be good people who truly want things in America to be better. But I know that President Obama has put us on a path toward being a better country, and Hillary is committed to protecting his accomplishments. I need a leader who can stand up to hatred and not give up. She has proven to me that is who she is.
I will be walking for Hillary this weekend. It will be pretty outside, if you are in Kansas City, Missouri, please join me.
Hillary Clinton is president I believe our country needs now.
(Thank you Chris)