Think About It

I saw this video on Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog at the Atlantic and got teary-eyed. Not because of the dancing, but becasue I started to think about who those women are. They are apparently African-American women born in the 1940s or thereabouts. They were teenagers before the civil Rights Act of 1964, and before the Voting Rights Act 0f 1965. They were forced to the back of buses because Rosa Parks hadn't demanded the right to sit wherever she damn well pleased. They had never heard of Martin Luther King. I'll bet those teenagers could not even imagine an African-American would even be considered for President. Now they are dancing to support Obama. They are in almost perfect sync. and I think its because the dance is not just a dance. It is more important to them then just a dance. It is their way of celebrating the unthinkably glorious. They have to be perfect, their teenage souls demand it. I, a 40-year old white man, say to those ladies: DANCE AWAY!!!! You have earned it! I have but one request - can I join in the second time around. I haven't earned the right to do it the first time.