Skip Navigation

The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

This Moment

By The Daily Dish
Jun 4 2008, 12:28 PM ET

A reader writes:

My grandfather, 86 years old and a veteran of WWII, just gave me a call. He was calling all of his grandchildren to let them know what an important night this was in the history of our country.

Grandpa drove a truck for over 50 years, and he told the story of how he drove with a team of drivers, 2 white (including him), and 4 black. When they stopped at the truck stops, the black drivers had to use seperate restrooms and showers, and had to eat in a small room in the back of the kitchen. Grandpa and his co-driver would eat in the back with the rest of the team, and while they didn't speak of it at the time, they knew it was wrong yet felt powerless to change it, and believed that it would never change.

Tonight, he told me, we have come full-circle. Many people, especially the younger generation who supported Obama, will never fully realize the historical import of what happened tonight. But he wanted his grandchildren to know this story that he had never told us, and it was the second time in my 33 years that I have heard my grandpa cry.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

translating the Bible—Into an E-Book That Works on Any Phone Translating the Bible—Into an E-Book That Works on Any Phone
Twelve Hours at CPAC, the 'Mardis Gras of the Right' 12 Hours at CPAC, the 'Mardi Gras of the Right'
Occupy Kindergarten: The Rich-Poor Divide Starts With Education The Rich-Poor Divide Starts With Education
Sarah Palin Brings Out the Barbs at CPAC Sarah Palin Ends CPAC With Rousing Speech
Why Does Maine Have a Two-and-a-Half-Month Caucus? Mitt Romney Wins Maine's Two-and-a-Half-Month Caucus
Special Report
The Civil War National Portrait Gallery The Civil War
A 150th-anniversary commemorative issue, with Atlantic work by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and others. Read more ›

Just In

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

The Civil War, Part 3: The Stereographs

Feb 10, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)