For Miamians, D.C. bus trip passes torch to a generation
The Miami Herald | Posted on Tue, Jan. 20, 2009
BY BETH REINHARD
For Eufaula Frazier, taking seven children to see the inauguration of the first black president signifies a ``passing of the torch.''
The 84-year-old community activist from Liberty City struggled for weeks to organize a trip to Washington on a shoestring budget and a prayer. On Monday, after almost 22 hours on a bus, plus a car ride and two subway trains, the Capitol's dome finally came into sight. ''Is that the White House?'' wondered Alexandra Leno, 15.
''It was a thrill, deep in my heart, to see their expressions,'' Frazier said of the children, ages 5 to 18. ``That said to me that they knew what they were there for. I believe we did something that will put them on the right path.''
Barack Obama has spoken of his debt to the Moses generation -- those who fought for freedom but never crossed over into the promised land of racial equality -- and called for young people, the Joshua generation, to take up the cause. To grab the torch.
These kids from Miami, Opa-locka and Miramar are skeptical of their obligations, beyond good grades and staying out of trouble. Their grandparents largely spared them stories of segregated schools, race riots and the cruelty of strangers.
But the children grasp that they are witnessing history, and for now, that is enough.
''This will be the closest I ever got to anyone famous,'' said Alexandra, though she will compete with perhaps as many as three million people Tuesday to see the swearing-in.
Unlike many of the student groups arriving in Washington this week, these kids did not bring dance costumes or band instruments. Only one of them has ever been north of Georgia. Most are being raised by single mothers, with the help of grandparents.
''We underground?'' Tonay Alexander, 12, asked during their first subway trip, snapping pictures with her disposable camera.
''Look, I got smoke coming out my mouth!'' she shrieked when she emerged onto the chilly streets, before borrowing a friend's gloves.
MEETING WITH MEEK
After waiting almost an hour to get past security at one of the Congressional buildings, the group was finally ushered in by Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami. Frazier's grandson, Martavis, took pictures of the doorway to Meek's office.
''I just thought it was cool,'' he explained, with a grin.
Minutes later, he and the other children were nestled into black leather couches. The congressman tried to put them at ease, talking about his own upbringing in Liberty City and how he never traveled out of the country until he was elected to Congress. Working in the Capitol doesn't get old, he said, describing the stillness that settles over the building late at night and bike rides past national monuments with his kids.
Martavis rolled the souvenir Congressional coin from Meek's office between his palms like it was solid gold. He said he would place it on top of his dresser, near his wrestling medals and trophies. ''Wow,'' he said. ``This is special to me.''
The captain of the wrestling team at Monsignor Edward Pace High School said he hoped to leave Washington ''with a sense of mental strength, a sense that I can do anything in life.'' He is the only kid on the trip who described encountering racism: at a wrestling match about a month ago in Naples, an argument over the referee's calls led to a kid on the opposing team using ``the N-word.''
''Wrestling challenges you mentally, not just physically,'' Martavis said. ``The guy who breaks mentally first, that's the guy who normally loses. I'm pretty sure on his way to being elected, people told Obama he couldn't win, but he didn't give up. You can tell in his body language.''
The kids' top priorities while in Washington: seeing Obama (highly unlikely except on the giant television screens on the lawn between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial) and seeing snow (a 30 percent chance, according to Tuesday's forecast.) Guy Lemonier, 13, who said he wants to be a lawyer ''to defend the good,'' also would like to see the Supreme Court.
''I got to go to college and get a nice job,'' he said on the bus, his portable video game in one hand, his cellphone on his lap, and half of a creme cake from Publix at his feet. ``If somebody gets accused of something they didn't do, I'd help them.''
The trip from Miami to Washington -- which included lunch at Burger King, dinner at Shoney's all-you-can-eat buffet and more than one wrong turn -- took almost a full day.
The journey began on a chilly Sunday morning, in a desolate parking lot near I-95. ''We're going to pass the torch,'' said Frazier, offering a candle in a plastic Coke bottle to her sister, who handed it to her nephew, who gave it to his son, and so on.
The Freedom Riders of 2009.
They stood in a circle holding hands with family members who came to see them off and sang the spiritual Come by Here and the civil-rights anthem, We Shall Overcome.
''If I knew the words I would have sung them,'' said Alexandra's brother William, 14.
The long ride didn't seem to faze them, nor did the long wait to get on the subway. They patiently munched on sunflower seeds and Doritos.
''What's to complain about?'' asked William, who took out his tight braids not long after he got off the bus.
''We have been working and struggling to see this day,'' Frazier said.
She was talking about fighting for racial equality, but she could have been talking about planning the bus trip.
CALLS OF SUPPORT
A Miami Herald article describing Frazier's struggle to raise money for the trip elicited more than a dozen calls of support. Eric Alboher of BlackHistoryTours.com arranged for the bus, at a discount. Checks totaling $8,000 came from golf pro Charlie DeLucca and attorneys Robert Burlington and Michael Hanzman. State Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach offered two tickets to the swearing-in, and state Rep. James Bush of Miami came to the bus depot to fold $200 into Frazier's hand.
''I want to thank Mrs. Frazier for having the vision to put this together,'' Meek told the group in his office, promising them a grand tour of the Capitol on Wednesday. ``Thanks to Mrs. Frazier for making a way out of no way.''
As the children made their way to the National Mall, the faintest flurry began falling from the sky. It was starting to snow.