Ignorance in the South, An Apology

As a young girl in Alabama, my first encounter with the Kennedy name was when JFK ran against Nixon. My father was a staunch supporter of Nixon and a die hard yellow dog democrat, (he had a heart), but he saw the Kennedy's as evil, why? They were Catholics and we were Southern Baptist.

The two do not mix well.

We had a round robin in elementary school, Alberta Elementary, it went like this, "Nixon, Nixon he's our man, lets throw Kennedy in the garbage can". I can not conceive I ever uttered those words, but remember I was a product of the deep South and a product of a Father who was so against the Catholics because they were anti-Baptist and he saw the power of the Catholics in the world as something akin to Satanic powers.

I was not having apart of this, yet I participated in this, not even knowing what I was saying. I liberated myself some 40 years later when I taught my granddaughter, Joanna Bretlea Southall, the importance of justice and the message JFK, Bobby, Teddy, and Martin taught us, until justice rolls like a mighty stream.

I do not blame my Father, for he had been taught this from generations of prejudice and ignorance born of ignorance.

Today, I mourn Ted Kennedy's death, I mourn the loss of his influence in the Senate and I mourn what is to become of our nation and the prejudice that still exists in our nation. We must remember. We must all remember the words of MLK, I have a dream. I have a dream that I will pass on to my grandchildren, I taught my granddaughter on important lesson, when someone asks you what you are, what you do, tell them one thing...you are a political activist, you are here to promote peace and goodwill and you are a liberal democrat, and you are not afraid to stand up to anyone who challenges you to do otherwise.

I pray that Ted Kennedy's soul is at peace with his brothers and his Mother. I do not believe his Father was a good man, but his sons were important in making America what is was intended by our founding Fathers.
Peace.