For All The Wrong Reasons?

It was a day just like any other. It was early morning, the skies were a dark gray, and the wind was cold. I was wrapped in my hand-me-down sweater as I entered the classroom that belonged to my history teacher, Mr.Seymour. Junior high was so long ago, and the details are foggy. I can’t even remember what section of the class we were in, but I can still recall the routine. First, we would do a warm-up and then we would read from the book. It was a very boring routine, but things were changed on this particular day. I hadn’t even begun to work on my warm-up when Mr.Seymour walked up to the middle of the classroom calling for attention. He had a hand full of papers that he gave to the student in front of him and ordered, “Take one and pass it around.” I skimmed the paper, but back then it was hard to understand exactly what it was. On one side it said Republican, and on the other it said Democrat. I skimmed the paper and noticed that there were a lot of old Caucasians in suits. It was typical that whenever it came to politics that an old white guy would be in the spotlight. However, it didn’t take me long to notice not just one, but two bizarre faces. One was a black man and the other a woman. Both were on the Democratic side. “These are the next Presidential candidates for the upcoming elections,” our teacher announced, “look these over and see what qualities you like about each candidate.” Immediately, I knew what half the class was thinking. My suspicions were confirmed in a matter of minutes when our teacher called out, “O.k. Who wants to go first?” My friend Corey in the back row raised his hand, “We haven’t had a black president yet have we?” “No,” My. Seymour answered him. “Then I think this Obama guy should be president,” Corey assured our teacher. Our teacher peered around, “Who agrees with Corey?” Hands flew up instantly like a flock of birds being scared by a house cat. Mr. Seymour paced towards