--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father passed away a few days before…" description: "\"My father passed away a few days before my election. This man, an African American born to a poor single mother in 1936 in the South, would worry in th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/cory-booker-2546_african_my-father-passed-away-a-few-days-before_1054440.jpg" --- # My father passed away a few days before my election. This… ![“My father passed away a few days before my election. This man, an African American born to a poor single mother in 1936 in the South, would worry in the last years of his life that he had better life chances when he was growing up than a young man born in the same circumstances would have today.” quote by Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/cory-booker-2546_african_my-father-passed-away-a-few-days-before_1054440.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/cory-booker-2546_african_my-father-passed-away-a-few-days-before_1054440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/cory-booker-2546_african_my-father-passed-away-a-few-days-before_1054440.jpg) > “My father passed away a few days before my election. This man, an African American born to a poor single mother in 1936 in the South, would worry in the last years of his life that he had better life chances when he was growing up than a young man born in the same circumstances would have today.” [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on personal loss and systemic inequality, noting that earlier generations faced greater barriers despite apparent opportunities. **In simple terms:** Loss and inequality are linked across generations. Key Takeaway Recognize and address persistent inequities. Themes family politics inequality history race Mood reflective somber determined Type political personal historical When to use this quote - campaign speeches - memorial events - policy discussions - community organizing Key Concepts systemic racism intergenerational mobility political reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor past struggles while building better futures? - What policies can reduce current disparities? A Different Perspective His view may overlook progress made in civil rights and economic opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african/) [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Better life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-life/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-circumstances-2541035/) [Born Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-poor/) [Chances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chances/) [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Passed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-passed/) [Few](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/few/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [His](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his/) [Last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Passed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passed/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same/) [Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single/) [Single mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-mother/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [There is a certain inescapable attachment. If you are born somewhere and circumstances don't take you away from it, then you grow up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/there-is-a-certain-inescapable-attachment-if-you-are-born-somewhere/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [The day I won an Emmy was also the day my father passed away. I received a call from my sister on the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharmeen-obaid-chinoy/the-day-i-won-an-emmy-was-also-the-day-my-father-passed-away-i/) [Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharmeen-obaid-chinoy/) > [My father passed from cancer in 2000; his brother died of cancer before that. My grandfather died of cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/my-father-passed-from-cancer-in-2000-his-brother-died-of-cancer/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [My father passed away when I was 17. I had no one to take care of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijayashanti/my-father-passed-away-when-i-was-17-i-had-no-one-to-take-care-of-me/) [Vijayashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijayashanti/) > [I have lived with extraordinary women, whether it was my grandmother, my mother. My father passed away when I was 16... I was witness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/i-have-lived-with-extraordinary-women-whether-it-was-my-grandmother/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) > [I was 33 when my father passed away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carter-cash/i-was-33-when-my-father-passed-away/) [John Carter Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carter-cash/) > [I was 12 when my father passed, so I didn't have a father during my teenage years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/i-was-12-when-my-father-passed-so-i-didn-t-have-a-father-during-my/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [My father passed away in 2002, but yes, we were pretty close. I loved him a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/my-father-passed-away-in-2002-but-yes-we-were-pretty-close-i-loved/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) > [My father had diabetes, my father passed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run/my-father-had-diabetes-my-father-passed/) [Rev. Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run/) > [My father passed away at, like, 87.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-allen/my-father-passed-away-at-like-87/) [Joan Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-allen/) > [My father passed away after three years of debilitating disease, which transformed a very strong and bright man into a real wreck. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/my-father-passed-away-after-three-years-of-debilitating-disease-which/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) > [When I was nine, my father passed away. It's one thing when you're a kid and your father wasn't there for you. My father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-murphy/when-i-was-nine-my-father-passed-away-it-s-one-thing-when-you-re-a/) [Charlie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-murphy/) > [Michael and I had great role models. Though his father has passed away, his parents had an amazingly strong marriage, as do mine. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-pollan/michael-and-i-had-great-role-models-though-his-father-has-passed-away/) [Tracy Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-pollan/) > [My father passed away due to Alzheimer's disease, and many things I do are nods to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-nantz/my-father-passed-away-due-to-alzheimer-s-disease-and-many-things-i-do/) [Jim Nantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-nantz/) > [My parents were married my whole life until my father passed away a few years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/my-parents-were-married-my-whole-life-until-my-father-passed-away-a/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) ## More by Cory Booker > [We've got to get back to a country that can get things done. And my whole career has been marching and charging at and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/we-ve-got-to-get-back-to-a-country-that-can-get-things-done-and-my/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [If you want the things people don't have, you have to do the things other people will not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/if-you-want-the-things-people-don-t-have-you-have-to-do-the-things/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Deterrents properly placed can help. But that is not enough. We are one society, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/deterrents-properly-placed-can-help-but-that-is-not-enough-we-are-one/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [Speaking as somebody who voted against TPA and has a lot of suspicions about Trans Pacific Partnership that are reflected in our concerns about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/speaking-as-somebody-who-voted-against-tpa-and-has-a-lot-of/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [ I love talking about the challenges \[Newark, NJ\] has because of the way they are always brilliantly disguised as opportunities.. .the biggest global challenge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-love-talking-about-the-challenges-newark-nj-has-because-of-the-way/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [If Donald Trump governs the way he campaigned, it'll be a disastrous presidency. This is a chance for him to be magnanimous, humble. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/if-donald-trump-governs-the-way-he-campaigned-it-ll-be-a-disastrous/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [To me, feminism is believing in women's equality, and I ardently ascribe to that belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/to-me-feminism-is-believing-in-women-s-equality-and-i-ardently/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [I live in Brick Towers, a public housing project in Newark's Central Ward. I moved in when the projects were privately owned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-live-in-brick-towers-a-public-housing-project-in-newark-s-central/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“I celebrate ideals of individual excellence, self-reliance, and personal responsibility… But rugged individualism alone did not get us to the moon. It did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-celebrate-ideals-of-individual-excellence-self-reliance-and/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [The history in our country speaks to our highest values of people who did not accept things as they are and go along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/the-history-in-our-country-speaks-to-our-highest-values-of-people-who/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [My dad set a clear model for me for what manhood was all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/my-dad-set-a-clear-model-for-me-for-what-manhood-was-all-about/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [Can you every single day tell a true testimony of who you are? That's really what life is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/can-you-every-single-day-tell-a-true-testimony-of-who-you-are-that-s/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [2016 is an election like I've never seen before. And I think it reflects the fact that many people have a dissatisfaction with politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/2016-is-an-election-like-i-ve-never-seen-before-and-i-think-it/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [I do not believe that marijuana is a gateway drug, and having been a mayor trying to keep my community safe, if there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-do-not-believe-that-marijuana-is-a-gateway-drug-and-having-been-a/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [Any Democrat running is trying to get that Barack Obama coalition, which is an increasingly diverse voter base. It's young folks. It's minorities, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/any-democrat-running-is-trying-to-get-that-barack-obama-coalition/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) [Explore all 161 Cory Booker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) ## More African quotes > [We examine and highlight the history of the African descendants in America, and know that each and every one of us has come this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-clarke/we-examine-and-highlight-the-history-of-the-african-descendants-in/) [Yvette Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-clarke/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Virtually all of Darfur's six million residents are Muslim, and, because of decades of intermarriage, almost everyone has dark skin and African features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/virtually-all-of-darfur-s-six-million-residents-are-muslim-and/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I loved Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. Its about a first-generation African family living in America that has to return home to Nigeria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/i-loved-ghana-must-go-by-taiye-selasi-its-about-a-first-generation/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [I was adopted my black Americans, I feel that I'm a 'Hybrid'. When I'm around Africans'I suddenly feel very black American. And when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-was-adopted-my-black-americans-i-feel-that-i-m-a-hybrid-when-i-m/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I concentrate on the southern African subcontinent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/i-concentrate-on-the-southern-african-subcontinent/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > ['Yo I'm from Africa' Boy you're just a faker. Name one city: 'Uhh, Jamaica!' Wrong! And I think that's a shame, An African look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-sun/yo-i-m-from-africa-boy-you-re-just-a-faker-name-one-city-uhh-jamaica/) [King Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-sun/) > [I am of an African-Jamaican descent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/i-am-of-an-african-jamaican-descent/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [When I was very little, I was into Michael Jackson. At six or seven, it was Madonna, but she's not what she used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/when-i-was-very-little-i-was-into-michael-jackson-at-six-or-seven-it/) [Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/) > [Football is a personal interest which has been turned into a philanthropic initiative directed at encouraging social cohesion during the difficult process of African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-hussein-al-amoudi/football-is-a-personal-interest-which-has-been-turned-into-a/) [Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-hussein-al-amoudi/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [African Queen' is pretty darn great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/african-queen-is-pretty-darn-great/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [Most Americans know nothing about the African forest, and it seems to them a very scary, spooky dangerous place. I've spent a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/most-americans-know-nothing-about-the-african-forest-and-it-seems-to/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) [Browse all 576 African quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My father passed away a few days before my election. 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