107-Year-Old Virginia McLaurin is One of Millions of African Americans Who Can’t Obtain a Photo ID.

McLaurin

Virginia McLaurin, aged 107, recently warmed the hearts of of millions after a video of her dancing with President Obama went viral. McLaurin, who was born in 1909, had finally fulfilled a dream of meeting America’s first Black president, something that she thought she would never see in her lifetime.

The images of McLaurin with The President and First Lady attracted a lot of attention, and the longtime D.C. resident was invited to media interviews all over the country. But as one of millions of African-Americans who can’t obtain a government issued photo ID, she is unable to travel.

McLaurin, who was born in South Carolina in 1909, is caught in a catch-22 that affects millions of Americans, particularly those who are black. Like many people at the time, she born at home, as black women who were pregnant were usually turned away from hospitals. As a result, she does not have the official birth certificate required to obtain a government-issued photo ID. McLaurin also can’t obtain the birth certificate without presenting a photo ID.

“I was birthed by a midwife and the birthday put in a Bible somewhere,” McLaurin told The Washington Post. “I don’t know if they even had birth certificates back then.”

According to then Attorney General Eric Holder, who addressed the NAACP in 2012, 25% of African-Americans and 8% of whites lack any form of government-issue ID. The problem is a legacy of general poverty and segregation.

There is also the issue of voting rights. Restrictive voter ID laws, which have been adopted in states like Texas, Virginia, and Mississippi, have prevented millions of Americans from voting.

Virginia McLaurin can vote in D.C., which doesn’t require an ID. But she expressed anger over the fact that residents in other states don’t have the same access that she does.

“I’d pray long and hard to my God if they ever tried to do something like that to me,” she said.

In addition to voting rights and travel, a lack of photo ID. can also prevent someone from opening a bank account, receiving Social Security benefits, and even having surgery.

Sixty-two year-old Philadelphia resident Gloria Cuttino, who like McLaurin was also born in South Carolina, struggles due to the fact that she is unable to obtain a photo ID. Cuttino described the bureaucratic conundrum that she was faced with when trying to get a copy of her birth certificate, to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I am who I am,” Cuttino said. “I just need proof.”