about Startup America, a growing initiative to help entrepreneurs create new jobs.
Yet, the White House staff didn’t just talk. They listened. Jon Carson, deputy assistant to the president and director of OPE, opened the floor to hear what we had to say about topics such as civil rights for native, tribal communities; continued support for veterans and spouses; and public education. Yes, the White House listens to government leaders like our own Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, a regular adviser. The White House listens to community leaders too. After all, as the president reminded us, being a community organizer is how he got his start.
So here is my task. I have to be that stone, that when skipped across the river from the shore, creates a ripple effect to the other side. Life is cyclical. I have to do what I asked volunteers to do for Mr. Obama’s presidential Campaign for Change in 2008, when I was a staffer: Be the stone that ripples the water for a better city, state, nation, and world – to get us all to the other side of the promise of America – a fulfilled promise, not just the promise itself.
Back at the White House briefing, Michael Blake, associate director of OPE, and my fellow Northwestern University alum, asked that if we had a photo of a loved-one with us – tangible or digital – to take a look at it as a reminder of why we were there. I looked at my phone. I wasn’t at the White House for my beloved dog.
Fortunately, I happened to have a photo of my mother and me. It made sense. My mother, Dr. Georgianne Thomas, has been on the frontlines ever since she was stunned to see the “Colored” and “White” signs at the train station when she arrived in Atlanta from Gary, Ind., to attend Spelman College. Now, here I was, on a Friday in June 2011, an heir of the
Civil Rights Movement, at the White House attending a briefing. I cannot drop the mantle.
President Barack Obama knows how to exit a room, too. As unceremoniously – business as usual, I make surprise visits to unexpected guests everyday – as he entered our gathering, he exited just the same. Leaving all of us wanting more. This is what I love about the president. He does not leave us wanting more of him, although that is what it seems. He leaves us wanting more – more for our country, our community, our children, our lives. In response, we do more because doing more is the only option.
Alvelyn Sanders, a native of Atlanta, is a writer and producer. Her forthcoming project is a documentary, “Foot Soldiers: Class of 1964.” She is an assistant minister at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was staff member of the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign, based at the State Headquarters in midtown Atlanta. She can be reached at alvelynsanders@gmail.com.