We are born in moments that turn to days then months and years of dawns of hope and sunsets of despair. But the moments we should remember first are those of conquering our fears, standing our ground, sacrificing for someone we love, and standing up for the rights of a perfect stranger because it is the right and righteous thing to do.
I discovered my true self while traveling along the broken road. I learned that breaking away from a painful past is not always easy, but it is always right. And I found my voice for the benefit of history, for myself, my husband Mark, and our two sons, Leigh and Burns.
When I was a young girl, I rode on the wings of the politics of hate and fear as it carried me away from my childhood and conquered my dream of a simple life. But through it all, I refused to lose faith in my hope that one day my life would count for something. And I wanted to be remembered for who I was rather than who I belonged to.
The broken road set me free. It helped me to better understand the past, what made us, and who we are. And it taught me that my life could be measured not from where I came from but where I was going, and to believe that each of us has the power to change first our own lives and then the lives of others.
Several years ago, my son Burns came rushing through our back door. He was returning from a large business conference in Gulf Shores, Alabama. “Mom,” he said, “I was standing in the middle of a reception when a man walked up to me. He looked at the name badge on my coat, Morgan Burns Kennedy. ‘I know who you are,’ he said. ‘You are Peggy Wallace Kennedy’s son, aren’t you? Not Dad, not Paw Paw or Mawmaw Lurleen, just you!’ ”
Burns wrapped his arms around me for a lingering hug. “You made it, Mom, you made it,” he said.
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift up my lamp beside the golden door!”
That is the American promise that men and women long for, that our sons and daughters fight for, and what our sense of morality should stand for. It is an American dream that gives rise to heartfelt moments that encourage us to believe that each of us has a personal obligation to live in the present and work each day for the promise of a more just America where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remains.
The mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and beyond never wavered in their belief that justice would come. And they prayed for the day when the fair winds of freedom and following seas would carry them to the shores of a life without fear and a heart of purpose.
There is power in confidence, in feeling loved and respected for who you are and what you believe; it is the reaching out and touching a soul that brings out the humanity of others. And there are moments in all of our lives when the future can become more important than the past, where “I shall overcome” becomes “I have overcome.”
Now is the time for Americans to hold hands with one another rather than holding down the inherent rights of the common man. For no one can ever measure the true worth of a mended heart that beats because someone cared. How can our sons and daughters stand on mountaintops if we do not teach them how to climb? If we live a life of purpose and hope, our voices will be heard and we will never have to think about the cost of a lost chance to say the right thing or stand up and be counted.
It’s like what Mamaw said to me after Mama died: “Peggy Sue, nobody is given the same opportunities in life but if we work hard and do right, we can make opportunities of our own. Your mama showed me that.” She said, “Now go out back and tell Mr. Henry to stop what he’s doing so he can ride us up by the broken road.”
My family. Back row, left to right: Morgan Burns Kennedy and Leigh Chancellor Kennedy. Front row, left to right: Hannah Torbert Kennedy (wife of Burns Kennedy), Justice H. Mark Kennedy, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, Maggie Rose Kennedy (granddaughter), and Stephanie Rion Kennedy (wife of Leigh Kennedy).