Relentless

My husband calls me Dorothy, but not because of my childhood love for all things related to "The Wiz" (or less so to "The Wizard of Oz").  He calls me that because of my shero, the late Dorothy I. Height.  And it is not meant in an enduring way...

But screw him and his ability to compartmentalize and shift focus to the less important things in life (like professional baseball and new restaurants).  I am happy for anyone who can live in wonderful mindless bliss.  I cannot.

I am a political junkie.  I have causes that drive me.  I was watching Roland Martin on TV One this morning at 11am instead of sitting in a church somewhere.  Almost every decision I make has some kind of political, global or social consequence to it--I shop at Target instead of Wal-Mart because of how the latter mistreats its employees.  In fact, on a friend's Facebook inquiry about where to buy a club membership, I suggested Costco because I happen to know that Costco is a better employer.  I have waged a boycott against Kraft Foods for years because I think their synthetic ingredients and reliance on high fructose corn syrup explain why half of America has diabetes and high cholesterol.  I recycle even when none of my neighbors do.  I am trying to wean myself off of products that harm the environment.

Whew!

This week, in an effort to wage an online GOTV effort, I am trying to rally the troops with daily email messages.  I will work someone's nerve before all is said and done, but I just want us to wake up and face the reality of what might happen in less than two weeks!  So if someone defriends me or adds my name to their email spam filter, so what.  I am going to be me and even if I annoy the hell out of folks, no one will doubt my passion and perseverance.  I remember how passion, perseverance and idealism convinced the country that it could elect a black president.  At some point, I will sway someone to act.

Back to my nickname-sake, she represents why I cannot give up.  She was a woman at the helm of a civil rights organization in the 60s when such things were unheard of.  People may not remember much of what she and the National Council of Negro Women did, but because she was there in the trenches fighting against Jim Crow, people do remember what she and the NCNW represented: dignity, strength, perseverance, and fortitude. 

So I carry on and will keep being me.  A relentless, driven, true-believing busy black woman.