Imagine a life crossing THREE centuries. Imagine voting for a black man for President of the United States, the same country that allowed your father to be considered property. It strains credulity, but here is 109-year-old Amanda Jones' story, and of course this takes place in Texas:"Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Joyce Jones said. The family owned more than 100 acres of land in Cedar Creek at one point, she said.
Amanda Jones' father urged her to exercise her right to vote, despite discriminatory practices at the polls and poll taxes meant to keep black and poor people from voting. Those practices were outlawed for federal elections with the 24th Amendment in 1964, but not for state and local races in Texas until 1966.
Amanda Jones says she cast her first presidential vote for Franklin Roosevelt, but she doesn't recall which of his four terms that was. When she did vote, she paid a poll tax, her daughters said. That she is able, for the first time, to vote for a black presidential nominee for free fills her with joy, Jones said."
The older I get, the more grateful I am for the sacrifices and hard work of preceding generations. This woman personifies just about every kind of social ill that this country has the capability to throw at us. And, she survived.
So, let's do Amanda proud on Tuesday, folks. She deserves it.
