But because of that project I found myself in Raleigh yesterday. It was Martin Luther King day and there was going to be a March in Raleigh. So packed up my camera and I went out to downtown Raleigh. And when I arrived people were already gathering up and there was some music playing.
I got to talk with some of the people that were participating. All had their own reasons to be there that morning. From justice for all, to helping the poor and giving back to the community. Then I also got to talk to this lady.
She told me that she was raised in Alabama and was one of the protesters in the sixties and she and all her friends got arrested for being on the bus. Those who have seen the movie "The Butler" recently might recall history a little better now. Today she was with her friend and they got a little emotional. Having done the military homecomings for OpLove before, I felt "that" feeling coming up again. "The-photographer-gets-emotional"-feeling. I do not always welcome that feeling when behind my camera, but when it pops up it is almost always unstoppable. The lady looked at me and she said it was hard. I put my camera down and walked towards her. Making a photo now, wouldn't be appropriate. We talked a bit and I said to her that I couldn't change history but asked her if it would be okay to give her a hug. She smiled. And we hugged. And while doing that I felt a tear running down my cheek. She thanked me and said every year after she had been on the March. Every year. And she was going to be doing that as long as she could.
"I am the dream."
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