Tomorrow, I’m going to think about two people, and this was prompted by what Rev. Mark Breland said during the Martin Luther King Jr. service in Lititz. He asked the congregation to think about the unsung heroes, the marchers or those who suffered and are not celebrated the way King is today.
One person I’ll think about is Nelson Polite, the aging community leader in Lancaster city. He’s seen a some hate thrown his way, and yet here’s a man who outwardly is as kind and grandfatherly and honorable as anyone you can meet. I recall the moment NBC News declared the election for Barack Obama. At the local Democratic celebration, people crowded in front of the TV blocking Polite’s view. He stood from his chair and tried to peer through the people, straining to listen to the announcer speak, and when it became apparent Obama would be the next president, Polite raised his frail fists in the air in a quiet moment of celebration. Then he sat and sighed.
I’ll also think about a young Millersville University student I interviewed the day after the Nov. 4 election. Her name eludes me now, but I’ll never forget what she said. Speaking about what Obama’s election should say to the African American community, this student flat out said (paraphrase): “None of us have any excuses anymore. You have no excuse to miss work. You have no excuse to miss class. Look at what Obama did.” That was as profound a perspective as you could expect from anyone, be it a student or a historian or a politician, and her message should resonate not just with the African American community but whites and Hispanics and Asian Americans and all races and creeds. Look at what Obama did.
Obama’s victory reached people at a local level whether its inspiration to be something more or the feeling that a lifetime of waiting had finally ended triumphantly and honorably. That’s a reason why we can expect 2 million people or more in Washington, D.C. tomorrow morning.
