<\/p>\n
My grandmother’s grandmother touched Abraham Lincoln’s As they entered, the train pulled in and out stepped I come from a poor, working class family.\u00a0 <\/span>They had no access to power, were never On Saturday, as Barack Obama and Joe Biden retraced As we watch Barack Obama’s inauguration, we are not only \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My grandmother’s grandmother touched Abraham Lincoln’s coat.\u00a0 One day, when she was a little girl, her father rushed into the house and said, “Come on, we are going to the train station right now.”\u00a0 Once outside, they joined a large crowd rushing toward Baltimore’s train station. As they entered, the train pulled in and out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election-08"],"yoast_head":"\n
\ncoat.\u00a0 <\/span>One day, when she was a
\nlittle girl, her father rushed into the house and said, “Come on, we are going
\nto the train station right now.”\u00a0
\n<\/span>Once outside, they joined a large crowd rushing toward Baltimore’s train
\nstation.<\/p>\n
\nPresident-elect Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0
\n<\/span>My ancestors pressed toward the front getting close enough to Lincoln
\nthat my small great-great grandmother reached out and tugged on his coat.\u00a0 <\/span>He looked down and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She never forgot.\u00a0 <\/span>And she shared this story with her
\nchildren and grandchildren who, in turn, shared it with theirs.<\/p>\n
\ninvited to the White House.\u00a0 <\/span>They
\nnever owned their own home, could barely read and write, and possessed few
\nearthly goods.\u00a0 <\/span>This story–the
\nstory of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration journey–is the only inheritance I have
\nfrom my 19th<\/sup> century ancestors.\u00a0 <\/span>And all I really know about them is that Lincoln’s election
\ngave them hope, enough hope that they pushed through the crowds in Baltimore in
\norder to reach out and touch him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nLincoln’s train journey, I thought of my ancestors and the difficult times in
\nwhich they lived and their quiet, unheralded participation in history.<\/p>\n
\nwitnesses to history, but we are, in fact, making history.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Each of us–wherever we are and
\nwhatever we do–are creating an inheritance of memory for those who are yet to
\nbe born.\u00a0 <\/span>Enjoy.\u00a0 <\/span>Celebrate.\u00a0 <\/span>Do something.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Tell your story.\u00a0 <\/span>And think
\nof all those who will one day want to hear that you tugged on the coat of
\nAmerican history.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n