God Spare Life

Barack Obama: Doing My Part to Bring the Change We Need

When I set out to host an open house for Barack Obama, I could not have known what interesting, heart-warming, and hopeful stories I would hear from those who attended — and even one that arrived by mail from a "snow-bird" neighbor now working for Obama in Michigan:

• a Vietnam Veteran who opposes McCain
• a young woman who had decided not to vote, but learned enough at my house to decide she'll vote for Obama
• a parent of a special needs son, who's incensed over Palin "parading" her Downs baby around like a campaign prop.

What can you do to make sure your state votes "blue"?

Here are some ideas:

Barack Obama - Another Magical Moment in History

I'm feeling a bit psychic, given the news today. Listen to my interview with my editor/publisher, Yvonne DiVita, from a few days ago about my experience at a private reception for Senator Obama here in Florida on May 21.

As I mentioned in the interview, I was able to give a copy of my book to Senator Obama and he wrote this about it:

Dear Claudia,

Thank you so much for the copy of your autobiography God Spare Life. Your struggle to break boundaries never before crossed is truly inspirational. I encourage continuing to spread your message to everyone that we should never give up our hopes and dreams. Of course, the greatest gift you can give is your support, and I truly appreciate it. ...

Click on the image to enlarge and see the rest of Senator Obama's letter to me.

As you can tell from my smile, my words, and my voice in the interview above, I'm in turn inspired by Senator Obama and his message. When I and my classmates took over the Vassar College administration building in 1969 and wondered if we would accomplish our goals or be expelled, I could not yet envision this day.

Now we have an African American ready to be nominated by a major party for President ... and serious talk of a woman as his running mate! As I said in the interview, the feeling for me is magical.

Diversity Award: 2008 and Beyond

What an amazing week I had at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Francisco last week! In addition to receiving the AAOS 2008 Diversity Award, I had the opportunity to meet the future I've worked so long to help bring about.

You may recognize these two shining examples:

> > >    > > > 

That's Debi Thomas in the middle (yes, the former US and World Champion and Olympic medalist figure skater), who's now a practicing orthopaedic surgeon. She attended the Trilogy Breakfast where we bring together the African American, women's, and Latino societies of orthopaedic surgeons. 

And the third photo is Kalilah Allen-Harris (Miss Black USA 2007), who is in medical school studying toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Kalilah and I were on a panel presentation entitled "She Can Do It" and she expresses the spirit of passing on what we've been given on her own blog where she wrote, "Being able to encourage people is such a blessing."

Here's more about my whirlwind week from a conversation with Yvonne DiVita and Tom Collins last Friday (just click the Play ">" button to listen, or the link below to download the MP3):

MP3 File

Stop back soon for another segment from this conversation.

An Open Letter to Senator Obama

Dear Senator Obama,

I declared my support of your candidacy early, and proudly counted myself among those who lifted you to the top of the first fundraising tally. Having witnessed your keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I could only be impressed by your brilliance. When your wife joined you on stage, I was impressed even further that she bore no physical resemblance to a trophy wife, and I sensed the prize was hidden inside of her. When you announced you planned to enter the 2008 presidential race, I was ecstatic. Reading your best-selling published works confirmed your intellect.

As a child of the 1960s and a pioneer, I applaud you. I am a graduate of Vassar College, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Yale University Orthopaedic Surgery residency training program. During those years, I participated in the take-over of Vassar’s Main Administration Building in 1969, and in 1980 became the first woman to complete orthopaedic surgery training at Yale and the first African American female orthopaedic surgeon in the United States.

Coming of age during that civil rights era taught me to use the necessary means to crash through barricades and open doors. The obstacles I faced due to my hue were far greater than those due to my gender.

I know what it took for you to succeed in climbing the Ivy League ladder, and to become the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. There are those who would have us believe that, as it relates to people of color, these honors are handed out to the undeserving. But from one pioneer to another, I know that you had to be better than the competition then, and you still have to be better now. The civil rights struggle continues.

As a person of color, I have been deeply disturbed by the political statements of those who seem to be under the illusion that the fight for civil rights is obsolete. Commentary from the media, including “Black” talk radio, has echoed the phrase, “Don’t vote for someone just because of the color of their skin.” Well, Hell, don’t vote against them for that reason either.

It’s amazing that 99.9% of this type of commentary comes from people who have colored skin, and it’s unfortunate that, included in these numbers, are those who have name recognition and are influential in the African American community.

Have we “progressed” so far that we now have the luxury of beating down our own in the interest of being “fair,” or have we regressed so far that the bottom of the crab barrel is as far as we can see? Have we lost our vision because we can not envision ourselves as presidential candidates, and therefore can not embrace you?  Are we envious because you have trod the road that we dare not? If the answer is no, then how can we bring ourselves to repeatedly sound that discordant trumpet?

The voters in South Carolina seem to be an exception. You are strongly supported by that African American community, and you seem to be Black enough for them. May the voters in the South Carolina primary raise the consciousness of the nation and set an example of the power that unity can bring.

Claudia Thomas, M.D.