“In Our Lifetime”
In 2008, before Super Tuesday, seven African-Americans
who have lived through fifteen presidents, Jim Crow and the
Civil Rights movement sat down and shared their candid
thoughts and deeply personal feelings about the possibility
of having an African-American President in their lifetime.
The Elders have lived through and witnessed things most of
us can not imagine in our realities. These haunting
remembrances and personal experiences affect their ideas
and hopes about (at the time) underdog candidate Barack
Obama; whether it was an increased amount of fear for his
person and soul or a deeper sense of pride for his grace and
audacity.
They reveal a part of history missing from the pages of
textbooks. They speak on surviving and overcoming racism.
Their lives testify on education, achievement, personal
responsibility, success, obstacles and of course politics.
They connect us to African Americans who chose not to ride
on the back of the bus or drink from the colored water
fountain.
They affirm and deny whether African-Americans are better
off today. Their experiences and opinions are as diverse as
these men and women. Our wise Elders speak on what an
Obama presidency would do for African-Americans,
especially young African-American men.
Finally they offer the one thing that at times was the only
thing African Americans had: hope.
