jo an g. - honolulu, HI

I am a progressive.I was born in Eastern Tennesse in abject poverty. My Father was a World War I Veteran. He was wouned and we lived our life on a small pension of $60.00 a month. My mother ironed for people in our town. There was a hosiery mill in town and an iron/steel mill. I saw the difference in the halves/halve nots. I walked through the Black section of town on my way to school. I saw that the town didn't work for most people. I managed to get myself out of Rockwood, Tenn. and went to Berea College. Check it out. It was founded in 1855 to be the first integrated school in Ky. There I experienced a system that worked for everyone. Free hospital care and my first visit to a dentist. Students had no cars on campus. We had a motto...High Thinking and Simple Living. I absorbed that into every cell in my being. I've lived it! That is my idea of a Progressive, A SOCIETY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE. I was one of the first persons to picket Woolworth's in Boston asking them to let people sit at their counters in N. C. I organized a lettuce boycott in Calif. for Cezar Chevez's stand for working conditions for Mexicans. My husband is now V P of the University of Hawaii. I use my time to be on committes for the homeless in Hawaii. I stand for rights of the Native Hawaiians. I am a delegate to the Hawaiian Democratic Convention. I was on the Steering Committee for Dennis Kucinich. He did great in Hawaii. I am 70 years of age and I'm a Progressive. My best years are ahead of me. Growing up in a town that did not work for everyone and then experiencing one that did, gave me the vision and the courage to give my life for Progressive Causes and Parties. Please bring your TAKE BACK AMERICA to all American cities. I'll support.I'm fired up.