Friday, June 06, 2008
Obama can reach all walks of life
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Shanna Flowers is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
Shanna Flowers
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BRISTOL -- For the Rev. James Beatty of Roanoke, Thursday was a day he never thought he would live to see.
As a 70-year-old black man who grew up in the segregated South -- first North Carolina and then Virginia -- Beatty assumed there was no way he would ever witness a black man with an honest shot at the presidency. Just maybe his three grandchildren might.
But on Thursday morning, after climbing out of bed at 4:30, after taking his daily walk and after driving with a five-car caravan of Roanokers, Beatty sat quietly and dignified among the cheering throngs who piled into a gymnasium in far Southwest Virginia to see Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"What you thought would never happen is happening," Beatty said. "I just could not contain myself. I want to be here. I had to be here."
The crowd -- black, white, young, old, professional, blue collar -- reflected Obama, a man who transcends race. Thursday inside Virginia High School, there were no racial, socioeconomic or gender divisions, just people united in their hope for a new day in Washington.
It can't be dismissed that the man derided as elitist kicked off his general election campaign to standing ovations deep in Southwest Virginia, a coal-mining region in Appalachia.
The town hall-style meeting was a testament to Obama's ability to bring people together. They came from all over the region -- and all walks of life.
Men pushed strollers carrying toddlers. Women clutched infants. Elderly hobbled on canes and walkers. Some people used wheelchairs.
Five young men wore white T-shirts, each with a giant blue letter on the front. The group sat together, spelling O-b-a-m-a.
A group of men who wore goldenrod-yellow T-shirts emblazoned with "boilermakers" led the auditorium in enthusiastic cheers of "Yes we can," a line made famous during one of Obama's primary victory speeches.
Another group opposed to mountaintop mining sat in support of the Illinois senator. A teen with braces and wearing a "Got Hope?" T-shirt grinned and enthusiastically shook Obama's hand as he made his way to the podium.
On Thursday, it didn't matter who they were. They put their hopes and dreams on Obama.
"He's inspiring a whole new generation," Gregg Lewis of Roanoke said. He kept his son, Charlie, home from kindergarten and they drove down to see Obama.
Devon Bracher, 17, who will vote for the first time in November, giggled that she came out "because I'm in love with Barack Obama." Then the Bristol teen added seriously, "He has the ability to change the country."
The candidate, who has promised to make health care more accessible, touched a nerve with the audience when he shared woeful stories he has heard along the campaign trail.
He shared a story about a woman he met on one campaign stop going to school full time and working full time so she can keep insurance for a family member with cystic fibrosis.
"Been there," someone yelled out.
He talked about single mothers who can get insurance for their children but not themselves.
"Uh-huh," another said.
Barbara Pendergrass Richmond and her husband, Archie Richmond, drove down with Beatty.
"The reason we're here is for the first time since I've been politically aware, this is a candidate I believe," she said. "He is trying to practice true democracy.
Government "belongs to the people. He says, 'We can' not 'I will,' " she added.
Dressed in a crisp black suit, white shirt and red tie, Beatty sat attentively as Obama spoke. Occasionally, the minister would nod and wave his hand in agreement.
Beatty said he doesn't support Obama merely because he's black.
"It's great that he's a minority, but he's a minority that's about something," the preacher said.
Pendergrass Richmond chipped in. "All that shows is that God will use anyone."
This coming Sunday, Beatty told me, he will speak from the pulpit about seeing Obama. He will tell the young people at his church that he experienced something he never thought he would.
In his quiet, even voice, he added, "God blessed me to see it."
Shanna Flowers' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
