Well that was fun! Yesterday started off with a bang given all the solar eclipse hoopla (which ultimately didn’t disappoint). At the last minute I was able to pick up an extra pair of glasses from my neighborhood elementary school (shout out to Wolf Creek!). Everyone was able to experience the moment live. Then, it ended with our first candidate forum for the election where I’m running to be the next state representative for Georgia’s 65th House District.

After first driving to the wrong location (thanks same address in two different places Atlanta), and then waiting for an hour and a half for the first two rounds of candidates, finally it was our turn to talk. What began as a packed house, by 8:30pm the crowd had started to thin out a bit. But that didn’t bother any of the candidates. We all came with something to say. I’ve written here before about how important it is to be in the arena, and for that I have a ton of respect for each of the candidates in the race. It’s easy to complain about our politics, it’s an entirely different thing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it.

My goal last night though was to simply share a few stories that would resonate about why I care about the issues. Of course I talked about the Black women in my life, my wife, daughters, mother and grandma. After an evening of hearing stats (some accurate, others needed a fact check), I wanted to connect with the audience on a personal level. I started by sharing my experience two weeks ago judging a mock political debate for a group of high school students. During that debate they were discussing their stance on a wide range of issues, education, gun control, climate change, human rights, you name it.  What I was struck by the most was their passion for the issues and their determination that they could in fact be solved by reasonable people working together. Imagine that. That’s one of the reasons why I’m in this race.

The final story that I shared was about my grandmother who recently turned 85 years old. Growing up in South Carolina, she attended segregated schools, and eventually got a scholarship to attend a segregated all black girls school. She later became an educator herself, attending a local HBCU (South Carolina State) following in the footsteps of my great Aunt who was active as a trustee at another HBCU, Claflin College. My grandmother was 26 years old with two daughters under the age of 5 when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was finally passed. It paved the way for her to exercise her full citizenship in the state where our family traces our ancestry back to slavery. Her daughter, my mother, raised my siblings and I with a passion for education and the belief that we are in this world for a purpose. Everyday of this race I’m reminded of mine. Last night, I was proud to reflect their legacy.

SDW3