I Woke Up Early to Stand For Them

This morning I debated whether to go to the polls before work or after work. And after thinking on it while laying in bed, I looked over to my left and there, on top of the messy comforter and between pillows was the book I read before drifting off to sleep: We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For by Alice Walker. My mind immediately envisioned the small green frame and the picture of Leah Ross within its confines. In the photo she’s wearing pearls, a single strand over a v neck wide collar blouse, matching earrings. Her hair is styled and her face is clear and although the photo is black and white, I know she had on lipstick. Her face is relaxed, almost expressionless, but not really. Maybe you can tell me what its saying when you see it. But she’s looking dead at the camera man, eyes invading the space. She’s who comes to mind as I get out of bed to dress and go on to the polls early. I went early because she would have. She and my granddad Kenneth Hudson Byrd, and my great aunt Winifred Beldon, and my great granddad Carey Nall, and my great uncle Herbert Byrd, and my great aunts Beverly and Hedda and Carolyn, and every person whose blood flows in my veins and upon whose shoulders I stand. They would have gotten up before I did, they would have made sure they were the first ones at the polling place because their bodies and souls and faith understood that today was an important day. Today was a day you wore your best because you wanted to remember what you had on that maroon trumpet skirt dress with the matching duster and the camel pumps and matching pocketbook the day you were able to vote for a qualified presidential candidate who you felt represented the best in you who also happened to be a black man. I went early because they woke up early for years, making sure breakfast was made, the house was swept, the kids dressed, to walk, ride the bus, to work the job they could get because they had something to give to the world. They would have brought breakfast for the others in line and coffee to make the wait a little more bearable and blankets and folding chairs in case someone wanted to “sit a spell” to rest their feet. I got up this morning and voted early because I represent the best in them, I encompass their dreams and as their living representative, I thought it best for me to represent them the best I knew how: by getting there early to let their voices be heard through me.

No matter the outcome of the election, know that our ancestors are watching, smiling, and cheering each of us on…

Side note: My coworker, who hasn’t voted in YEARS voted today. How’s that for change. The first change that has occurred is a change of heart for many Americans. That’s change I can support!