Clara Pierre Reeves of Princeton
To communities like ours—Princeton and its surrounding areas—”change”—-Barack Obama’s rallying cry— has a special meaning. It’s one that should be familiar to all of us, because it is part of our history.
Passion for change ignited and fed our past, from the battle that made George Washington a great leader, to the struggles that put Paul Robeson on the map as a star athlete and internationally known singer.
Passion for change is what inspired the social gains of Brown v. Board of Education and women’s and gays’ rights.
History and change go hand in hand.
History gives a perspective on how much hard work and sacrifice it has taken to get social changes off the ground. Changes like these have led our country forward to the extraordinary turning point at which we find ourselves now, with the coming election.
A vote for Obama is a vote for the kind of change that makes history. The groundwork has been laid. Old attitudes about race and gender have gone through a remarkable about-face in the last six decades. Does anyone remember that in 1968 Channing Phillips was the first black politician to be nominated for president of the United States? And what about Geraldine Ferraro’s vice presidential nomination in 1984? Has anyone counted the number of senators, governors and mayors who happen to be women?
True, much still needs to be done. That is exactly why our job this November is to elect a president who will bring to fruition the seeds of change planted long ago.
Clara Pierre Reeves
Princeton

