NELSONVILLE, Ohio – Barack Obama was nearing his sixth birthday when the Supreme Court struck down the last 16 state laws banning interracial marriage. Forty years later, the offspring of such unions and folks who crossed racial lines to find a spouse, like Mr. Obama’s parents, are watching his campaign with special pride.
Usually they’re anonymous in the crowd. Rarely do they get to thank Mr. Obama directly, as a local pastor, Leon Forte, got to do Sunday morning at a town hall in Ohio’s rural Appalachia region.
“I’m the father of two biracial children, and your campaign has lifted them into a whole new dimension,” he said before asking about home foreclosures, a problem afflicting his congregation. “And so, I’m proud, as an African American.” Mr. Obama thanked him for saying so.
Voters of many ethnicities find meaning in the Obama candidacy, just as many women root for Hillary Rodham Clinton to break the gender barrier.
But for mixed-race families, he represents a lifting of ancient taboos.
I have to comment on this, because a similar thing happened in my family.
Several years back, my niece was dating and decided to marry a black person. When we told our father, (her grandfather), he was totally abhorred……he banged his fist on our dinner table, and yelled and screamed that they would never be welcomed in his house.
We chose not to listen. We basically told him to STFU, times had changed, etc. He fumed. It was embarrassing for all of us to have to listen to him spew vile things, and we almost felt disrespectful telling him to shut up, but he was the only one in the family that was acting that way, so all of us held our ground.
Then, my niece brought her husband-to-be up to meet everyone, and during their visit, low and behold, we found out that his father had worked with my mother at American Airlines, and my mother thought the world of his father. So, my father eventually came to accept it. Understand? I know it gets confusing!
After their engagement period, and many visits between all, they ended up getting married in my father’s house. Now, we are blessed with two of the most beautiful little girls from this interracial marriage – one is almost two years old, and the other was born just a couple of months ago. Like I said, they are beautiful!
And now that the election time is coming up, my father has actually said that he will vote for Obama, and prior to all this, he was a staunch Republican………I find it all fascinating.
Hi BON! Hi Wife Geeding! Hi Dog’s Geeding! Love to you all!
P.S. It’s snowing at Gobble Hollow! Yippeeee!!!!