Stephanie Tubbs Jones August 21, 2008
Posted by makingyourdashcount in Life Journey, mourning, Ohio Politics.Tags: "stephanie Tubbs Jones", democrats, memorial, ohio
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It isn’t exactly like I knew Stephanie Tubbs Jones. But I did eat dinner with her in an airport restaurant in Washington in 2004. My daughter, mom and I spent the weekend in DC participating in the million person “March for Women’s Lives.” It is hard to describe the power of that event, but our dinner at Legal Seafoods that night cemented every bit of empowerment we felt that spring weekend.
I am sure that Stephanie initiated the conversation, because there was one of her and three of us; we had built in company. As we, she was eager to talk about the weekend. We talked about family; she had lost her husband several months prior. She talked about single motherhood’s challenges, and the trials of living in two cities. She talked about her district, which she obviously loved, and what it was like being a black woman in Congress.
By the end of supper, I wanted to be a constituant.
My memory of that dinner is as embedded in the power of that weekend as marching on the Capital. There is no doubt that Stephanie inspired young women in her district that they can be whatever, whomever they choose! I feel most for her son, Mervyn Jr. He lost his mother way too young. But her loss is felt among many. America lost a rising, shining star this week; Stephanie Tubbs Jones made her dash count.
National Day of Silence April 7, 2008
Posted by makingyourdashcount in bigotry, civil disobedience, Ohio Politics, Westerville, Westerville North.Tags: "Day of Silence", Generation Y, Westerville
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How tremendous that Westerville City Schools, along with thousands of schools across this country, are empowering teens to act against intolerance and hate through the annual Day of Silence on April 25th. In 1849, Henry David Thoreau introduced the world to the concept of civil disobedience; since then we have learned the power of civil disobedience through leaders like Martin Luther King and Ghandi.
Through their act of silence on the 25th, teens across the country are standing up to discrimination and hate directed toward people who are gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual in the best Thoreau tradition. They are reaching beyond themselves.
The children of baby boomers, our current teens, generation Y, are described by pundits as materialistic, self-centered and in need of immediate gratification.
How refreshing it is that they are willing to take on causes such as discrimination against marginal communities, whether or not they are part of that community.
Teaching our students that standing up for the rights of people who are different from the majority is an unequivocally American value.
The day of silence will raise awareness for the just cause of tolerance and the recognition that each of us is an individual. It is ok to be different.
Again, I am proud to live in Westerville, Ohio.
