From TPM Reader DT
I walked out from teaching my first American politics course on November 22, 1963 at the University of North Carolina to be greeted by a mixture of cheers and cries. We have come a long way from that day but since then I had at times thought that I had chosen the wrong profession. I chose politics in the early ’60s because I saw hope for the future. Since then it oftentimes has seemed that we have been on a down hill slide. I grew up in Tennessee with the memory of a KKK burning on my front lawn because my father was a civil rights attorney. The question of social justice has been at the forefront of my life since then. As I retire from teaching I feel pride and hope for the first time since the beginning of my career. Because I teach black politics I can tell you with some assurance that Obama has it. He has what it takes to begin to fulfill America’s promise. I am once again optimistic about the future.
