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Editor, The News-Gazette: There is a lot of bad news these days. It is hard not to feel discouraged, But that is only part of the picture. Having lived a long life, I have the advantage of noticing how much progress has been made and how far we have come in our democratic experiment. Like all Southerners of a certain age, I attended racially segregated schools and lived in a society legally divided by race. As a young female attorney, I was denied employment because of my gender. Such discrimination was legal. Elected officials, decision makers and institutional leaders were almost exclusively white men.
Fast forward to today. This week voters in Rockbridge County will elect our representative for the 24th District in the House of Delegates. Both candidates are female and one is African American. That is something to celebrate. Regardless of which party we favor, we can be proud that women and members of all races are appearing on the ballot and being elected to office at all levels, all over our country. I am grateful to have lived to see this evidence that despite disappointing setbacks, progress is slowly but surely happening. Something to celebrate, indeed.
COLQUITTMEACHAM Rockbridge County
