Miles Davis, his parents migrated from Arkansas to Illinois, where he had the luxury of being able to practice for hours upon hours. He never would have been able to do that in the cotton country of Arkansas.

Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to talk about it because there had been pain and heartbreak under the caste system of the South. They didn't want to burden their children with what they had endured.

What I love about the stories of the Great Migration is that this is not ancient history; this is living history. Most people of color can find someone in their own family who had experienced a migration of some kind, knowing the sense of dislocation, longing and fortitude.

People leave when life becomes untenable where they are.

But one of the most enjoyable things for me is that running for office gives you this license to enter the world of somebody else and to hear about the dreams that they have for themselves, for their family, for the country.

I have an English family and I've lived in England for years.

I grew up in a family that had young people adopted from all over the world.

At the moment, my mother is the only one left in Glasgow, although it's certainly my home.