Recently I was at a petrol station. Some black folks asked me what I do, and I explained that I was driving around the country, trying to get blacks to register Republican. I explained the importance of getting a real black president. Mr. Obama, I said, because he was black, had to behave whiter than a white president. I didn't mention that the same might be true of a woman president. A male president might be more of a feminist than a woman.
There were a few white people at the petrol station as well. As I was speaking, one of them turned around and made eye contact. The black person I was speaking to repeatedly encouraged me to get on down the road before I was taken out to "the pumpkin patch". She didn't need to explain that the pumpkin patch was not a good place. Events at the pumpkin patch did not involve pleasant treatment of people, black or white, who advocated for civil rights, their own civil rights or the civil rights of others.
The year is 2023. We live in a nation where people still fear for their safety because of their peaceful political opinions. If you aren't registered Republican, the next time you hear of or see something racially offensive, please recall that I asked you to help me take back the party of Abraham Lincoln and Jackie Robinson. The choice is yours. If, years from now, we still live in a place where people fear for their safety because of their political opinions, at least I'll know I've tried.
Trey, me & Michael Wahibi
Buffalo, New York
May 1986
