Norman Lear marks his 99th birthday today by penning an Op-Ed on voting rights

The Washington Post

"I woke up today at the start of my 100th year as a citizen of this beautiful, bewildering country," the iconic TV producer wrote in The Washington Post. "I am proud of the progress we’ve made in my first 99 years, and it breaks my heart to see it undermined by politicians more committed to their own power than the principles that should bind us together. Frankly, I am baffled and disturbed that 21st-century Americans must still struggle to protect their right to vote. It’s very likely that I owe my a** and all those decades of human experience to that Black and Brown squadron of Red Tail P-51 fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee airmen. When we saw their red tails coming to escort us, we all felt a bit safer. Yet when these courageous men returned to the United States, they returned to racism, segregation and discrimination. Their heroism did not shield them from the indignities and violence of Jim Crow. I can only imagine the depth of the betrayal the airmen must have felt, but it did not prevent many of them from accomplishing great things."