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My first foray into paid political work was ~10 years ago. Michael Thurmond paid me $100 per four hour shift to put out signs, and my gf and I at the time woke up at 4 AM during GOTV days to get it done. In hindsight, what a launching point.
Mr. Thurmond was defeated by about 20 points, but I was hooked immediately. I believed then, as I still believe now, that the South is the soul of the nation, the Sun Belt is the future of the nation, and Black people are the heart of this nation.
Thus, a career in politics was born. I'll save the lessons learned, thrill of victory, and the pain of defeat for a book. I've only been doing this for a decade. I can't imagine the elation folks that have been doing this for SEVERAL decades feel.
Some of y'all are committed to this dense obtuseness about what it means to build Black political power and what can be accomplished from it. It's ironic that many of you same people hail from institutions that wouldn't have admitted you prior to 1960...
And use Pell grants & federal aid to fund it. So seeing what Black, Latinx, Asian, and Native people have done organizing their own communities for 10 years now, you won't ever see me knocking anyone's elation, or hopelessness and criticism, around electoral politics
But I also have NEVER come across anyone that actually does the hardwork of organizing and community building that dissuades others from being involved and invested in the electoral process. They may not be excited about it, but they don't put others down either
Moral of the story: Ambassador Andrew Young once suggested it's important to find something worth dying for, because you can so easily die for nothing. I don't think he means standing in front of a bullet for justice, tho that's an option
Rather, there's a finite amount of time here on this Earth. Find something that matters to you, and commit yourself to it. Some do law. Some are police. Some are educators. I'm a politico, and I love it, and I've found my life's calling. I pray the same for each of you.