Flying with my reality check

Dear Sister friends,
Today was the opening of the long awaited, much touted, (by me!) art quilt show,

Quilts for Obama:An Exhibit Celebrating the Inauguration of our 44th President.
It was fun, wonderful, historic and such an honor.

But I want to share a sobering moment with you that really brought home the significance of this occasion.

My Mother, who accompanied me to the opening today, is a native Washingtonian.

She said, when we pulled up in front of the Washington Historical Society Museum today, this building used to be the only public library that blacks were allowed to use, they had to use the back entrance and were not even allowed on every floor of that building.
As a child she had to take a street car and 2 buses to get to this building from her home.
She said from elementary school thru her high school years it was like that, and beyond...
Mother is 75ish...
My mother grew up in Southeast DC, what is now Ward 7.
I knew many things were segregated for many years, but I never would have thought that a public library would have been closed to anyone seeking knowledge.
I was floored by this fact.
So to accompany her daughter up the grand front entrance stairs and into an exhibit honoring the first Black President was of particular significance for her.

She was so moved.

As was I.

Today I got my reality check and it did not even come in the mail.

The words on the outside ring of my quilt say...

"...Full of the Hope that the present has brought us..."

The words are from the Black national Anthem.

I want to quote the full stanza.

Sing a song full of the Faith that the dark past has taught us;

Sing a song full of the Hope that the present has brought us...

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

let us march on til victory is won.

NINE more days to go to the Inaugural.

It has been a long time coming..

Aim High,

Cookie
But change is gonna come.