Dr Robert H. Smith Sr with his wife (Courtesy: Rhonda Smith/ ABC News) Photograph:( Others )
Dr Robert H. Smith Sr, of Jackson, Mississippi, was seen with an "I Voted" sticker after he cast an absentee ballot while wearing a face mask
The 2020 US election is one of the most important in the history of the United States and a 99-year-old man from Mississippi is becoming an inspiration for reminding many how crucial it is to vote.
Dr Robert H. Smith Sr, of Jackson, Mississippi, was seen with an "I Voted" sticker after he cast an absentee ballot while wearing a face mask.
"I remember when I couldn't vote," said Smith as quoted by ABC News, referring to complications involved with regards to Black Americans voting.
Although the Black men were given the right to vote in 1870 with the 15th Amendment, it took decades for exercising this right and Smith, who was born as the son of a sharecropper also faced the same hurdles.
Despite coming from a humble background, Smith is one of the first from his family who finished high school and got a PhD degree.
He also served the US Army during the Second World War and was and was later promoted to the chief warrant officer's rank in the European Theater of Operations.
Smith, who waited for about 20 minutes with his son to cast his ballot last month, said he proud of overcoming the challenges he encountered throughout his lifetime.
"Voting is an experience that every American citizen should have," Smith said, adding, "we the people decide who's going to be our leader."