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Uplifted

By Lynn Rudmin Chong - Sanbornton | Aug 22, 2020

It’d be 1983 that I met Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm in our New Hampshire State House. Our first black Congresswoman. Because I was working for the Jesse Jackson campaign, I was called to come to Concord. I was thirty-eight. My daughters were thirteen and ten. My ten-year-old grew up to graduate from Saint Paul’s School and Yale and work in D.C., her first job, for SEIU labor union on L Street. One time visiting her in D.C., we happened upon Congressman John Lewis at a corner crossing, waiting for the light. She knew him, because Jesse Jackson and black leaders often met in SEIU conference rooms. She introduced us. As a UNH undergrad I had listened to SNCC, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, recruiting for voter registration in the South. So I broke into their song, upon meeting the freedom-dedicated Congressman. My instant singing made him beam. I am grateful for these life experiences. Now we have VP-nominee Kamala Harris making inroads as a black-woman candidate for Vice President, partnering with presidential candidate Joe Biden.

My children are mixed-race, and I’m all for all races welcomed on every level.

My spirits uplifted, upon hearing the recent news. Kamala Harris is well educated, being a Howard University undergraduate and a California University law graduate. With President Trump showing so many gaps in basic knowledge, it matters much to have a well-prepared, educated newcomer potentially in our White House. A U.S. Senator, she understands our branches of government. Kamala Harris smiles. She’s grounded in humanity; healthily she keeps her balance. Now, may all voting rights pertain – people who can vote and want to vote – may those ballots not be impeded. All counted.

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