Up from Slavery, and into the Polling Booth: Amanda Jones, a 109 Year Old Woman Whose Father was a Slave, Just Voted for Barack Obama

Below is a quote from a profile article that appeared in an Austin, Texas newspaper today.

This election is part of America’s story. History is being made before our very eyes—and we are a part of it.

Are you with Amanda Jones?:

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country’s first black presidential nominee.

The middle child of 13, Jones, who is African American, is part of a family that has lived in Bastrop County for five generations. The family has remained a fixture in Cedar Creek and other parts of the county, even when its members had to eat at segregated barbecue dives and walk through the back door while white customers walked through the front, said Amanda Jones’ 68-year-old daughter, Joyce Jones.

For at least a decade, Amanda Jones worked as a maid for $20 a month, Joyce Jones said. She was a housewife for 72 years and helped her now-deceased husband, C.L. Jones, manage a store.

And here’s an image of Amanda: