After graduation from college, I served for two years in the Peace Corps in Peru. So many lessons learned. Upon returning to the U.S., I married, had four children, was a happy homemaker for 13 years then decided to run in 1974 and 1976 for the state Assembly. We needed elected leaders that weren't "sold to the highest bidder." We needed to fulfill our dream as a country where all were truly equal. We should be proud of ourselves for taking a giant leap in electing our first African-American president. I have shed a lot of tears of joy since he was elected and I will not miss this exceptional opportunity to be part of a historic event. I will be there standing proud as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of our country.
Peru RPCV Lela Nelson writes: We are so fortunate to have a leader who calls on our better angels, who will listen to all sides, who is committed to bringing people together and who will answer to the American people who put him in office
Moment of pride arrives
By Lela Nelson
Owner of Lela Nelson Realty
January 21, 2009 6:00 AM
Where to begin? How do you put a lifetime of experiences, hopes and dreams into a few words ... or words at all?
I'll try.
I grew up in the Watts section of Los Angeles in the '40s and early '50s. I am 68 years old and for those early formative years, all my teachers were African-American. They were the ones who taught me to read, who introduced me to a world outside of Watts, who encouraged a bright young Mexican-American girl to go on to college.
I will be at the inauguration for Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. Brown, Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Coleman, but especially for Mr. Johnson, my sixth-grade teacher. He was the teacher who made me promise that I would go on to college.
I attended college in Arkansas in the late '50s and early '60s where "colored" and "white" fountains could be found. There were separate doors for the "colored" folks to enter a building or buy a bus ticket. They sat on wooden benches in the balconies of theaters while we sat in the comfortable seats below. I became a civil rights activist at that time. I worked in the Republican campaign of Winthrop Rockefeller as he tried (and eventually succeeded) in a run for governor against Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus.
After graduation from college, I served for two years in the Peace Corps in Peru. So many lessons learned. Upon returning to the U.S., I married, had four children, was a happy homemaker for 13 years then decided to run in 1974 and 1976 for the state Assembly. We needed elected leaders that weren't "sold to the highest bidder." We needed to fulfill our dream as a country where all were truly equal. I lost but stayed active in supporting leaders who were exceptional, like Patrick Johnston and Dario Marenco.
After reading Barack Obama's books and listening to his speeches, I became a fervent follower.
Like Obama, I value health above profits, human rights above torture, truth above lies, life above death, a clean earth above greed, peace above war and especially HOPE above despair.
We are so fortunate to have a leader who calls on our better angels, who will listen to all sides, who is committed to bringing people together and who will answer to the American people who put him in office. We should be proud of ourselves for taking a giant leap in electing our first African-American president. I have shed a lot of tears of joy since he was elected and I will not miss this exceptional opportunity to be part of a historic event. I will be there standing proud as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of our country.
Contact Lela Nelson, owner of Lela Nelson Realty, at (209) 467-1200 or lelanelson@sbcglobal.net.
