“Her money is just as green as mine,”
my mother told the clerk who passed over
the African-American woman waiting
at the counter before we arrived.
“She was here before us, after all.”
The clerk then moved beyond us
to a white woman who had just arrived.
My mother went to her side
and told her politely,
“You must wait your turn,”
to the woman’s surprise.
All commerce stopped
at that counter
on that day.
And my mother taught me
what I think of today.
Always speak up at injustice.
Always seek fairness for all.
Always let your voice be heard.
Always ask for others to join your cause.
Never leave anyone standing aside.
Never be afraid to act with pride.
Today, hundreds of thousand of women
such as my mother are on our streets
in thousands of protests
for justice
for fairness
for democracy
for our pride
as Americans
whose strength resides
not in military strength
but in the Bill of Rights
threatened openly by a fool
who like all fools
thinks he is king
This fool says
Anyone who protests
his $45 million birthday parade
will face “very heavy force.”
He never met my mother !
He will today.
annarino writes 