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In the Cleveland debate with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama took a great step toward reassuring the Jewish community - in response to a question about Louis Farrakhan - in what may have been a very smart move. But it was a statement I also found to be personally moving. He talked about the historical alliance between Jews and African Americans, that has gotten a bit frayed in the last couple of decades. He even went as far as saying that he would not be there, running for president, if not for Jewish Americans who fought for Civil Rights.
My father was one of those Jews. Even before the tumultuous events of the 60’s, my father was attending graduate school in Tennessee, in the 50’s. He became active in the early Civil Rights movement, becoming involved in registering blacks to vote. For this, he was chased by a segregationist, brandishing an ice pick. Luckily, he was fast on his feet in those days, or else I might not be here myself! As students of Civil Rights know, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were not so lucky, (along with their partner, James Chaney). They, of course, were three civil rights activists murdered by the KKK in Mississippi.Unfortunately, we did lose my father 17 years ago - but his lifelong quest for justice and equal rights has stayed with me, spurring me to my activism and writing. Thank you, Barack Obama, for remembering him, if only in the abstract.
