(Guru's Note: The print section offer in the Inquirer in Philly.com has two stories by your Guru off the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday in which Rutgers' women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer addressed the group as part of the buildup for the NCAA Trenton Regional in March.
One reports on the overall day with general remarks by the Women's Basketball Hall of Famer. The other is a narrative of what became an emotional moment during the Q.and A. session in which she responded to a question from your Guru at to her feelings Tuesday night the moment that TV declared Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.
What follows is a raw extended transcription of the full 8 plus minute portion of her remarks, with some minor editing due to her soft voice getting a little too soft. Hopefuly, in the next day or so, we might get the actual recording posted. And more of what Stringer said during her general remarks will be posted here in the next day or so.
Since print space considerations limited the full answer, the Guru now brings that to you in its entirety. Meanwhile, the Guru after this posting must go home for some quick sleep and determine his wardrobe for his acting debut in a pilot being shot for a TV show involving the sports department. You can't make up some of the stuff that goes on around here. -- Mel Greenberg
Remarks by Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer on Barack Obama's election.
Guru: What were you feeling at the moment that TV declared Barack Obama president elect.
Stringer:
"Wow, I have to tell you (pause quiver)
"I cried a lot (she says in a teary voice) because I didn’t even realize -- I’ve seen so much, I’ve been hurt, like a lot of people, and I couldn’t figure out why I was nervous all day (Tuesday, voice steadies a bit)
"I was nervous, I couldn’t understand, why was I anxious and then, you know, and then I wasn’t satisfied until I got home.
"And then, ah, when I heard he was president, it was something I thought that I would never see, I didn’t realize that I had so much emotion, so much hurt, but I was so proud of him, how proud of America, proud of all people, cause I think he was able to touch, ah, he was able to touch, ah, the hearts and minds of everyone.
"And it was good to see the person was judged by the content of the character than the color of their skin. I think it is hard to imagine this.
"I cried with Colin Powell. I cried with Jessie Jackson, you know, I saw all of that (history).
"It’s been going on way too long. And so when I just cried and cried so hard, and I was telling my mom that I grew up in Pennsylvania.
"And as I expressed initially in my book, I didn’t even think a president -- because we weren’t allowed to talk about it. And there were very few minorites there so I didn’t even known that was existing.
"But my eyes were opened the longer I lived, when I went to college, and then got a job, and started teaching and coaching at Cheyney University -- I saw it all.
"So quite honestly, it was just the biggest cry, and the greatest relief, and the best sense of, We’re going to be OK as a nation.
"Because I’m seeing grown men -- black and white -- cry. I’ve never seen young people and old people in all colors come together as one, and it confirms — I was saying to coach Chaney when I talked to him in the hospital before I came here -- this man (Chaney) has been doing what Obama has been doing, but he’s been doing it on the basketball court, because he’s talked about and given respect to everyone from the manager -- the manager is just as important as the star basketball player and you guys know that.
"And I think what Barack was able to do was to touch the very essence of what we all are as human beings.
"We just want to have respect. You just want to have love. You just want to have opportunity.
"This man (Obama) got beyond the elitism that has been a part of this country and he began to talk about what --
"No one wants to receive anything. Everyone wants to feel that they are worthy. And he respected every living body.
"I listened to him -- he exemplified the Christian principles of when things got rough and he was called names, he turned his head and he offered nothing but love.
"But what was important about that is there are far more better good people in this world than there are evil people.
"And I was so encouraged by that.
"And I thought, ‘My goodness.’ My sons will now see a man and there’s no reason why they can’t believe they can become president.
"See most of you in this room might not have even thought about that.
"But how do you talk about soomething that has never been.
"How do I tell my young men, my sons, they can become president. They’ve never seen it. You know?
"And so when I say and I see that I thought the nation needed to give Barack to these young people because they need to be unified.
"We have too many problems in this country. They need to have hope and they need to have love and they needed to believe.
"All the predjudices from before -- and see I don’t like the idea they come up with age groupings, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think you need to be -- you have to know where your mind is and where your heart is.
"And so I get beyond that. If I was 90 years old, I know who I would be.
"And if I fit into the category of those young people who are free and independent thinking, then that’s who I would be. So I’m not one to be categorized.
"But all of us have been touched.
"And I say to my mother the next day, because her religion doesn’t allow her, she won’t vote, I said to her, ‘Ma. Do you realize that Obama was elected?’
"And she was, ‘I followed this with everything I could. And I was so excited about it. You know you once told me when I was a little girl, you sat in a movie and some policemen took you out of the movie and made you sit up in the balcony.
"And I never told you this before, but it hurt me. I was hurt. And she wasn’t respected and she should have been.
"She said ‘You never said anything about -- ‘ And I said I know. I was hurt but I couldn’t do anything about it.
"I said, ‘But you know? That’s all over. It’s OK. ‘
"I think that whether you’re Indian or Mexican or whatever, everybody knows they are worthy.
And more than anything else than I can think of, I’ve never seen one issue that the people understood. ‘Yes we can.’ Together.
"Because I think so many things have been happening in this country that we felt -- we just passed it by. We said, ‘Look. That’s what they do in politics.’
"And that’s the time when you stand up.
"And I had an opportunity to speak to Oprah Winfrey. And she said to me, ‘But he’s the one. It doesn’t matter if I lose my ratings or anything else, it just doesn’t matter.
‘Because there comes a time in everyone’s life when you must stand up for the things you know to be right.’
"And so, as I said to my mom, I’m so happy because I know that my sons and their wives and their loves ones -- they’re going to make the world a better place.
I
"’m just happy to be an American because not only because he is a black man but because he happens to be black. And he’s a brilliant man. A passionate man. And he tends to reason just on the side of common sense.
"And he’s allowed us to be good human beings again. He said it’s OK. And I think that the embrace that I’ve seen, and the young people that I’ve seen join together - they’ve said the times before are past.
"And unless we as a people join hands to deal with it -- it’s not a political thing, whether energy or the issues we’re having, the wars that we’re having.
"We have to make sacrifices. This man is not going to be able to do it himself. And so I know he’s going to give his best.
"And I know that I will do anything and everything, if I have to knock on doors or make whatever sacrifices --
"I have a bad habit of leaving lights on, I guess I’ll turn those off. (laughter).
"I’ll do whatever I can. But I thank God I was able to see it. I thank God I was able to see that.
"And I didn’t even know how much that meant to me until I just cried and cried and cried.
"And so many other grown adults called me, really not just cheering hysterically, but really crying.
"And that’s what it meant. And I just didn’t know. So I’m just grateful. It’s been something else for me."
-- Mel
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