Never too old to vote
By Jimmie Davis, Jr.
The last time, 91-years-old Annie Bell Foster, voted, to everyone’s surprise, was during the ‘60’s was also the first time she participated in the electoral process.
Foster was among many residents in Broward that lived and worked on the Pompano farm/labor camp where they produced agriculture to earn a living.
When the Voting Rights Act was passed she decided to go out and vote.
“The NAACP was telling all the Black people to go out and vote,” said Foster during an interview at her home. “Voting is a good thing and it was my first time.”
“There weren’t many places for Black people to vote and as Foster recalls, Croft’s Grocery, located on Hammondville Road, was the polling precinct.
As time passed, Foster wasn’t involved with the political process – she was married to Peter Foster (deceased) for 22 years and raised two girls and boys.
She’s a little disappointed that she wasn’t able to cast her vote for President Barack Obama in 2008 due to her declining health.
Even though Foster’s stricken to a wheelchair, her very loving family made sure that she was registered to vote in this year’s election, and she’s going to cast her absentee ballot for Obama.
“I thought I was too old to vote, but I’m not,” Foster said. “I’m delighted about having a Black President because we never thought that something like this was possible. I’m going to vote for President Obama.”
Her son, Henry Foster, 57, also grew up on the Pompano farm/labor camp and says he’s very excited that his mother registered to vote.
“Our ancestors went through some traumatic experiences to have the opportunity to vote,” said Henry. “It’s very important that we keep up with the rich tradition of voting.”
Henry says that the country must continue to move forward and the only way to do this is to cast our ballot for President Obama.
Ulla Foster, 62, (daughter-in-law), also grew up during the civil rights era and never imagined that America would ever have a Black President.
Additionally, she’s very proud of her mother-in-law for having the fortitude to vote in this year’s election.
Ulla says that President Obama has a lot of “haters” but to their surprise he has done a wonderful job in the Oval Office by providing jobs and health coverage for citizens.
“My mother-in-law under-stands the importance of the Black vote,” said Ulla. “She’s the queen of this family and wearing her crown delightfully well.”
