By Barbara from Harlem
Lincoln Dinner Mistress of Ceremonies

A gift was bestowed upon America 214 years ago in Hodgenville, Kentucky in the year 1809 on February 12^th with the birth of Abraham Lincoln.  Not being born into luxury or extravagance, his ambition and self-will propelled him to become an American self-taught attorney.  He became the epitome of a self-made man.  His success as a lawyer was phenomenal, which was in all probability the reason why he entered politics to ensure the Founding Fathers’ vision of America as the land of freedom, liberty, and opportunity would be realized by all. 

The historical Whig Party existed from 1834 until 1854 and was the only political entity in opposition to the Democratic Party’s platform.  The Whigs consisted of two groups with opposing views about slavery.  The Conscience Whigs opposed slavery while the Cotton Whigs were proslavery.  In 1854 most of northern Whigs joined the newly formed Republican Party.   Lincoln’s entrance into politics reshaped the country’s view on failing to restrict slavery.  He saw an America where Blacks would be free of the shackles that restricted their GOD given desire to be free and live as free people who were entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of their own happiness.  One can be sure that this propelled Abraham Lincoln to seek higher office to purge the scourge of slavery from America’s soil.  As a strong-willed man, he ran as the first Republican presidential candidate of the new political party that replaced the Whigs.  His bid was successful, and on March 4^th, 1861 he became the 16^th President of the United States of America.

He is indeed an American Gift from Heaven with his sacrifice to free people that he realized and acknowledged that they too, were created and endowed by GOD with human rights and gifts.  When one reflects on such a man as Abraham, Lincoln, who was affectionately known also as “Honest Abe” and the “Great Emancipator,” we see a visionary of freedom for the oppressed, and a champion for freedom. 

It is my hope that my American dreams, accomplishments, challenges, and delights are sufficiently captured in my recorded account of life as expressed in my book “Escaping the Racism of Low Expectations.”  In it, I outline how I, as a woman of color, whose ancestors lived at a time of turmoil I can celebrate being born in America due to the horrors of slavery.  The Great Emancipator played a very significant role in changing our country into the Land of the Free.  Our former President’s, Abraham Lincoln’s, fortitude to set my people free with the pushing of the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments should always be remembered and revered.  What a wonderful gift to America of such a resolute, determined, and patriotic man as Abraham Lincoln.  He was a man who fought for the human rights of those who would have otherwise suffered and died as slaves, due to hatred, abuse, and never being recognized as humans created by GOD.    

Barbara from Harlem, known as the “Godmother of Black Conservatives” was a Democrat by default, meaning if you’re Black, you’re considered a Democrat by default. Active in NAACP and Charlie Rangel Club, she walked away and is now telling the story of her awakening to the world through her book “Escaping the Racism of Low Expectations.”