I was in high school when I saw that movie on TV, your honor (that's my way of hoping you'll consider a Supreme Court nomination when it is sent your way).

It helped reinforce my rebellion against the racism in my family, which was an onslaught that I consider akin to a form of child abuse. When parents attack a group of people based on the color of skin, a truly bizarre formulation of human opinion, and do this every day with invective, ridicule, and hatred, that is a form of abuse, in my opinion, because it can set a child up for failure in adulthood.

I resisted it aggressively, but I still believe much of the messaging remains latent and hidden within me. I can still hear the tapes playing in my head, no matter how ridiculous they may be.

When you won the presidency, I was among those with tears of joy in my eyes. The subsequent backlash comes from those who march to the words of those vile tapes. Cicely Tyson was determined to never work with those who allowed themselves to be governed by the words of racists and the prejudiced. She was an inspiration all those years ago to me, and today you are, too.