Susan Youngblood

Youngblood is the councilwoman for ward 2 for the Selma City Council.

Almost two years ago the Edmund Pettus Bridge was filled with people of every color, race, creed and nationality who call Selma and the surrounding area home. We were walking over the bridge, from the Montgomery side into Selma, for a different reason. Instead of reenacting a time when African Americans were denied rights and privileges due to “illegal legal barriers” we were walking in unity. The founding group, One Selma: Coming Home in Unity, met for months to plan a movement that was to begin unifying our divided town. People came and people went. Some people came and wanted the group to take on issues that, although valid issues, are not ones that would foster unity. Some people came to the group with the seagull syndrome –– swoop in, tell us what we were doing wrong, what we needed to do, job done, fly away. Such things often happen with well intended people, but their ideas do not fit the group mission.

The Unity Walk was to merely be a kick-off of a movement and series of activities brought about to help aid in reconciliation and healing. For a while, there was a spirit of love and cooperation among people of every color and every class. I was genuinely surprised by some of the people who showed up for the Unity Walk, and seemed moved to embrace people who looked, lived and worshiped differently than they did. Suffice it to say, there were a lot of surprises during the planning and during the event. We are in desperate need of a Unity Walk booster shot.

The rift is beginning to grow again. This presidential election has brought out a big bunch of ugly. Even though President George W. Bush called for a peaceful transfer of power for the Obama Administration, there was all sorts of ugly. I’m sure there were people skipping the inaugural festivities, but I don’t recall having seen public statements about it.

There certainly were nasty comments about the Obamas. One man asked me once what I thought about Mrs. Michelle Obama wearing Bermuda shorts. I replied that she wasn’t the first first lady to wear shorts, but quite frankly, I thought he didn’t care about the shorts, but I thought he was concerned about the color of her legs. Mrs. Obama exudes pure class, from what I’ve seen. When President and Mrs. Barack Obama came to Selma for the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, they were accompanied by President and Mrs. George W. Bush. When asked to speak, President Bush said it was President Obama’s time. He was there for support, and for people to know he and Laura were supportive.

Now President Obama is asking us to be good Americans, and to respect the dignancy of the Presidency, and for a peaceful and smooth transition. A big part of that is peace on the home front. Let’s be kind to each other. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. We need to stop blaming others for our failing to reach our potential.