Let’s forget “the issues” for a brief moment and reflect on something that is not debatable: If Barack Obama is elected President, we will all have the privilege of participating in one of the defining moments of modern history.
On this occasion let us remember those who cannnot be here to enjoy this moment – the departed who only could have dreamed that one day a man of part-African heritage would have such an opportunity.
(And let us be a be a little bit extra mindful of the living as well – those people for whom you sense that this is not just another election.)
Who will you be thinking of when you go into the voting booth? Whose name will you whisper when you say “This one is for you…” A civil rights leader? A beloved relative? An anonymous stranger? Perhaps even someone not yet old enough to understand prejudice?
Post a comment to share your dedication.
129 comments:
This one is for my grandfather Fissel Myss, who I never met. He fled persecution and arrived at Ellis Island, in the hope that one day his family could live in a land of tolerance.
For me, this is for my aunt Liz. Liz worked with Bobby Kennedy in 1968, and is currently up in rural New Hampshire for Barack. She helped me always remember that activism is for everyone, and that everything counts - just because you can't do everything doesn't mean you can't do something.
I voted early last week, so in retrospect, I'll dedicate my vote to my (thankfully few) misguided neighbors who still, in this day and age, judge people by the color of their skin. May my vote counteract theirs.
There are too many, and too personal to recount here. But one for sure is the guy - the one, lone guy - who picks up garbage on our street. Alone, driving, stopping, picking up bins, then driving 10 yards, stopping, picking up bins. When I saw the Obama poster on the side of his truck - even before Obama won the nomination - I almost cried. This could really be it - this could really happen. So to our garbage man - this one is also for you, because I'm proud to to be on your team.
Way too many too name including all the women who were excluded from the leadership of the group posted above. And everyone in the group posted above.
Only deceit can allow for Obama not to win this election and I plan on celebrating when he does.
And when I go into the booth, I'll remember my that I have relatives who had to sit at the back when they were my age. I'll remember what Katrina confirmed and revealed.
In the booth I'll be remembering Shirley Chisholm and praying for Obama as I cast my vote for my dreams and ideals with Catherine McKinney. Don't worry, there aren't enough Greens to make a difference in the election.
Simply and selfishly, I dedicate it to my two young children: may they never know the impossibility of a black man being president of the United States.
I dedicate my vote to all the people who died (in the 9th Ward and elsewhere) in the midst and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. May we all remember them on Nov 4.
If I'm allowed another, I also want to dedicate my vote to 16 year old Jonisha Tucker who was fatally shot last week in Double Rock housing project in Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco. She was a good student, athlete, and volunteered at the community garden where I used to work.
I dedicate my vote to Representative John Lewis from Atlanta because of the physical abuse he endured to ensure that all Americans have equal rights.
I dedicate my vote to my step-father, Arthur Waskow, who leads the way for so many toward social justice & social change. He can't succeed alone, so we must share in the responsibility of this work.
I've often said that my step-father does enough to represent the whole family (& then some) - but this time we must each do our part. One vote is not nearly enough. 10 votes is not nearly enough. 100 votes is not nearly enough. 1000 votes is not...
I dedicate my vote to my mom who would have been duly crazed about Bush, McCain and Palin, and totally, completely and wildly supportive of Obama.
I dedicate this vote to all the people I grew up with who consistently vote against their own interests because of an underfunded and under cared for educational system that did not give them the capacity for understanding the real world. I dedicate it to those who pray for change but do nothing real in their lives to make it happen. I dedicate my vote to those who live their lives in miserable hatred and see no way out for themselves or their children.
Finally, I dedicate my vote to the first hate monger who finds this website and spews.
I dedicate my vote to my dad. He was not what you would call color-blind when I was growing up. But he changed and grew as his life changed and had he lived to see this day, he would have voted for Barack. And he would have been proud and astonished to see this history being made.
I dedicate my vote to:
My parents & step-parents who continue to model integrity and action for me.
To all my beloveds who are United to End Racism.
To my daughter and her generation for whose benefit we all pray for healing of the country and of the planet.
I dedicate my vote to:
Mickey Slaughter, my black roommate freshman year at Columbia in 1962. Within a short time, when I'd see him crossing campus, I was amazed to see that he was black. To me he had become just Mickey. He helped me learn to see through and past race and color, a lesson I've never forgotten.
Mickey, you're out there somewhere. Google will help me find you.
I dedicate my vote to my bubbie, Mrs. Lillian Snyder. She was the very first person to teach me about equality. She would be proud of me, and even more proud if our nation does the right thing this election.
I'm dedicating my vote to all the teachers who taught me about Martin Luther King and to my white parents who taught me that it's not the color of your skin or where you are from that matters - but what you do in this life! What an amazing world and time we live in!
I dedicate my vote to someone I miss nearly every day - my friend Jay Ostrower. No one should die before their time, but it seemed especially unfair for this to happen to Jay. If there's a kinder, more idealistic, more dedicated person, I haven't met them. The only thing that could rile him up was injustice and prejudice, and he worked tirelessly against them and their day-to-day effects. Jay, this one's for you.
I dedicate my vote to my children. All the work I have done volunteering in this campaign has been done to help create a better world for them to grow up in.
And I dedicate my vote to my paternal grandparents Honey & Henry Waskow who were quietly dedicated political activists all their lives. And I dedicate my vote to my maternal grandmother Theresa Elkin who never missed an election after she got her citizenship.
I'm dedicating my vote to my husband, who was negatively impacted by the Bush regime, and can no longer vote.
I dedicate my vote to my father, who would have loved to have seen this day.
I dedicate my vote to my parents, Gussie and Morris, who were so proud that I participated in the March on Washington 45 years ago. They gave me the courage and the thinking that made me go.
I dedicate my vote to all in my family who fought for freedom, lived in Russian forests as they did so, and who died before I could know them. Their deaths were a direct result of overweening pride and power gone unchecked.
And I dedicate my vote to my politically astute daughter, whose wisdom often guides me. The ballot I cast on Tuesday will be, I fervently hope, just one among many millions which will bring us Barack Obama as President for a better world for her and for all who come after.
When I vote, I will dedicate my action to the guy in West Pittston, PA, who has the yard sign that says "I'm bitter, I own a gun, and I vote". And to the guy in Tunkhannock, PA, who used his businesses' sign to announce that we don't know enough about Obama, and that we don't need socialism.
Signed, Fryer Hussein Drew.
I dedicate my vote for Obama to my parents, who have been lifelong republicans, in the hopes that they might finally realize our moral obligation to fellow Americans. This is for every time they voted against a woman's right to choose, a loving couple's right to marry, or a child's right to healthcare. I have great hope that my child will never have the burden of responsibility to undo damage her parents have actively caused.
ED said...
I dedicate this to my parents who lived through the depression, married in 1933, raied one kid during WWII and me from 1945 on. The were staunch Democrates and if alive today would wait on line for hours just to cast their vote for Obama.
Also I would like to dedicate this to my wife who has fought against social injustice for years and will continue her fight for what is right and fair for those who cannot fight on their own.
And I would like to dedicate this to my son who at 15 years old will one day find that he and his generation have reached an age where this world is theirs to do what I hope we baby boomers with all our good intentions and ideology in the 60's were unable to do to make the world a better place for them.
I dedicate my vote to all the people in my life who have taught me to have courage, to choose the road less taken, and that it's OK to be different. We are ready for change--for something different. Rock with Barack!!!
I dedicate my vote to my parents who took out loans in order to send me to a Friends School- a school of tolerance, peace and love. For that matter, I dedicate my vote to my teachers who lovingly instilled those values in every one of their students. But most importantly I dedicate my vote to those who were not so lucky, who carry the prejudices and ignorance of their childhood wardens. May the day come when Barack Obama ushers in the education reform needed to offer every child the opportunity he or she deserves.
I dedicate my vote to Abraham Joshua Heschel who would have loved to vote in this election, and to my mother who cannot see past her fear to do the right thing this year.
I dedicate my vote to Studs Terkel and Kurt Vonnegut.
There are many people who have gone on to the next world whose memories I carried with me into the voting booth. My friend Jack Carey, who fought injustice as a public defender and died far too young; my grandparents, Caesar and Aida, Italian immigrants who battled bigotry and intolerance when they arrived in this country; Bob Webber, my theology professor in college who opened our eyes, our horizons and our closed minds.
Still, there is only one person to whom my vote really belongs. Studs Terkel, a man whose indefatigable sense of justice was out-measured only by his immense kindness, died last week at 96. He decided not to vote early because he was determined to show up at the polls today, wheelchair and all, and cast his ballot for real, tangible change.
In his essay, “Who’s Got the Ballot? — Red Kelly, 1975,” included in his latest collection P.S.: Further Thoughts from a Lifetime of Listening, Studs invoked images from the Great Depression, of bread lines and hard times. “Though the goose hung low,” he wrote, “there was a salubrious note in the air. Flutelike. Something around the corner. Not prosperity, no. That had always been around the corner, but never made the turn. ... No, it was something else. There was a deep Depression, true; but an elfin air pervaded, as insouciant as Roosevelt’s tilted cigarette holder. There was an unexplained gaiety that November …”
I can hear the flutes today, Studs, and the elves are mustering for a dance at the crossroads.
A spirit of anticipation hovers all around, the feeling that something else, something different, better — call it hope — is just around the corner.
On this Election Day, my dear soul-friend, fairy godfather, and co-conspirator, my vote is cast in your memory. And if, come Wednesday, the corner is turned and a different fate awaits us than the one you had wished for, we, born to live, will walk on.
As I’m writing this today, a song is playing on the digital jukebox. “Colors of the World,” by the Innocence Mission. It reminds me of you, Studs, as if were you still physically walking with us, still full of hope.
And I think of you in the colors of the world.
And I did meet you in the brotherhood of man
when I was traveling a long way from my home
and you are a friend of mine.
As you said, hope dies last.
So, this one’s for you, Studs.
I dedicate my vote to myles horton, founder of the highlander center; to studs terkel (as mentioned in another post); to mr. amato, our middle school librarian who encouraged me to read studs; to so many i met and admired from afar in south africa who worked for freedom there; to so many community organizers here both alive and gone; to those who will live after us and wonder as we will at the amazing shift in history that will take place tomorrow....
I dedicated my vote to my grandfather and my dad. Only recently did I find out that my grandfather voted Republican his whole life, but when I consider the constant example of decency, warmth, fair-mindedness and perseverence he demonstrated every day, I conclude he would have been proud to see how all his kids and grandkids were voting today. I think he would have been super proud to know my dad was doing voter protection in a low income african-american community in Florida today. This one's for you guys.
I dedicate my vote of hope to my children, mike 26, and erin 24, who have taught me to be a more tolerant person. i grew up in a different time from them and they taught me from their actions and their thoughts to let go of old feelings and resentments. for this i thank them and vote today for a better America!
I dedicate my vote to all the Hillary Clinton supporters (including myself) who were able to move forward, see the bigger picture, and throw their sincere support behind Obama. I think we can all agree that he is a thoughtful, rational, and compassionate man who gives us hope that things will get better and also challenges us to be a part of making it better.
I'm dedicating my vote to my brother-in-law Chams Eddin, who became a citizen of the US last month. He was supposed to be sworn in the Saturday before the deadline to register in Virgina, but when he appeared for his ceremony he was told that due to a bureaucratic glitch, he couldn't be sworn in as scheduled and so he hasn't been able to vote in this election. I was furious when I learned this. Few people appreciate what it means to be American as much as Chams does. My vote is in his honor.
This one goes out to Charles Mingus.
I dedicate this vote to my sister and her beautiful mixed-race family. May my nephews grow up in a country that has closed the door on racism forever. A place where a man who looks just like them can become president.
I dedicate my vote to my Grandpa Mac--a house painter. A man who, during the height of segregation, when invited to eat lunch in the house with the home owner would demand his crew of African-Americans come in and eat with them. If they were denied he would stay outside with his crew and eat. They were his friends...his brothers...his crew.
I dedicate my vote to my brother, Allan, scholar of Lincoln.
I dedicate this vote to my junior high social studies teacher -- who happened to be black -- who openly wept as we got the news as we were in class that JFK had been assassinated.
I dedicate my vote to my dad, who taught me to always stand up for what I believe in and not to be afraid to speak up when I don't agree.
I dedicate this vote to my Uncle Carlton who I know would have loved this moment so much that through his usual wisecracks would have had something really profound to say about this wonderful moment in our history.
I dedicate my vote to my young daughters so that they will know something different.
for Bobby
I dedicate my vote to my boyfriend Karl, whom I love with all my heart and soul, in the hope we will someday be legally married in Minnesota.
I dedicate my vote for my friends in foreign countries that have suffered under Bush as much as we have.
I dedicate my vote to my Grandpa Owen who passed away a week ago, and who's vote always cancelled out my own. I'm hoping he didn't vote early by absentee ballot this year.
My vote is for Lori A. Reilly who lived an audaciously hopeful life until just before this campaign began. She would approve and challenge us to fight for what this campaign was about!
For you dear,
Brian
My vote was for my great-grandmother Nana Toots, who died a few years back after nearly a century on this earth. If she were alive today, I know she would have lectured us great-grandkids about JFK, and how "they tried to keep the Irish Catholics out of the White House, too, but that didn't stop us." She would be so proud to see me cast my first ballot (I'm 18) this year.
For my Native American great grandparents, for my fellow Generation X-ers, for Emmett Till, for RFK and JFK and MLK, for Matthew Sheppard.
With love and hope.
Vern Gordon
1939-1997
As I cast my vote this morning, I felt my dad's presence. He was a union man, an optimist, a Norwegian-American and a Democrat.
He left us too soon. In his honor, I let my 9-year-old daughter mark my ballot.
I wish he could be here to celebrate tonight.
This one is for Ma, Frances Cooper, who passed away in 2003 and would had enjoyed every second of this historic moment.
I dedicate my vote to Famoun, Oshae, DaJohntae and African American boys everywhere, who might dream a little bigger and live a little better if Barack Obama is elected. They deserve it, and more.
my dad died in july. he was 80 yrs old. i'm pretty sure he would've voted for obama--even tho he was born in a racist household. he voted for kerry & gore, & he caucused for edwards (we all live in iowa. my wife & i also caucused for edwards--thank god he didn't win the nomination!) i dedicate my vote for obama to my dad. (i'd like to also raise a glass to 3 great democrats who sadly died this yr before they could vote for obama--studs terkel, paul newman, & george carlin)
for Madelyn Dunham
This one is for my dad, who would have loved this election. Who with his trademark sarcasm would not have been able to hide his excitement and optimism.
To my son Mike, the soldier that fought in the Streets of Baghdad and got his hope back with Obama.
This one is for my mom, who cut out articles related to Bush's fear-mongering every morning for eight years to share with friends and family, but still hasn't lost her sense of humor about the world, nor awe of life's rich pageant.
To my students. I am an American working in higher education in Qatar. My students are not Americans (in fact, the vast majority of my students cannot vote in their home countries), but this election means just as much to them as it does to me. I have always been proud to be an American, but today I am especially so. The world, especially the world's future leaders, are watching...
I am dedicating my vote to all of the poor, uneducated McCain voters who are too dumb to realize he isn't working for them.
This one's for you Herblock. I really missed you during these last four years.
I dedicate my vote to my little sister, who, at 16, has been volunteering for the Obama campaign for many months. She can't vote yet despite all the work she's put in, so I dedicate mine to her. I'm so proud of you, Nina.
I voted this morning with tears in my eyes...I'm a 31 year old Haitian born turn U.S. citizen this year, man and feel I should not be emotional about this...I am dedicating my vote to everyone in the United States of America...unlike most blacks in this country I got to see different sides as the first 4 years of my 22 years here were spent living in an all white town and going to all white school and learning right away that people can love you regardless of your skin color.
I did not know what racism was until I moved to black neighborhoods where even black kids treated me differently because of my dark skin complexion and nationality...I know racism lives here but my personal experiences to this day have always made me optimistic about our beautiful races all of them coming together in this great nation
I dedicate my vote also to 3 young men in the 5th grade whom I dont remember but they stood up for me during recess, a week after I moved to America on a cold fall day in a new school thousands of miles away from my home...I was playing soccer with the kids in school whom I didnt know and I was a natural in those days and juked this kid keeping him from tackling the ball away from me and he called me a nigger...I didn't know what a nigger was but all I remembered was 3 strangers, 3 white kids who didn't know my name came over and beat him up and I then realized never to accept anyone calling me a nigger...that was the only bad name I was ever called by whites in my 4 years living in Danielson CT...
I got my citizenship this year precisely for this reason...after hearing a speech from Barak Obama last summer I went to INS and put in my application for citizenship praying I would see this day and this morning I cried because although so many people cant understand what she meant, I understood Michelle Obama in that for the first time I feel proud to be an American...I always loved this country but never felt this country loved me...always reminded I was a foreigner, an outsider, not quite the fabric...today I completely understood why I am here and I belong here and I love here
Win or lose, Barrack Obama will always be my hero...I have gotten deeply involved in my community since knowing about this man...I want to be a community organizer...this election changed my life.
I am an American.
I dedicate my vote today, as I do every election, to the elderly Black men and women of South Africa, whose first vote after apartheid ended came just before I turned 18, and who thought they might not ever live to see the day happen when they could vote. Their passion and love for democracy inspired me then as now, and I never cast a ballot without remembering their faces and their pride on television. Truthfully, THEY are the ones who inspire me to vote and to be politically active.
I also dedicate it to the young people of my community, to the young people of this nation. I don't have children yet, but I hope to, someday, and this vote is a sign of my hope for their future, too. And finally, I offer it as a gesture of hope that our international relationships may begin to heal.
I dedicate my vote to my grandma Maria, who passed away almost 3 years ago. She raised me to believe in equality, fairness and that the garbage man had to be a Republican because he kept knocking down our garbage cans when we had signs for Democrats in our yards.
I dedicate my vote to my mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer this year. I fear that under McCain's deregulated health insurance plan, she will lose coverage.
I dedicate my vote to my parents. They lived in Tennessee in the 1960s, participated in the Civil Rights Movement, and taught me to judge people only by the contents of their character. May father never thought he would see the day when someone not of his own race could be elected president. And my mother died knowing that it was possible.
This vote is for my father Bob Cronin- a lifelong Boston democrat, an admirer of Dr King and the Kennedy brothers, he passed away 2 years ago. He would be so amazed and pleased by the history being made today. I feel he handed me the legacy of human compassion which leads me to vote with great pride and excitement for Senator Obama. I love you Daddy Boy, this one's for you!
I dedicate my vote to my 18-month-old neice, aka Princess Jane Scoots-a-lot, in Fairbanks, AK. For a better world and a better future for her generation.
I'd like to dedicate my vote to my family who taught me that if you believe in something and work hard enough for it anything is possible, even in the face of impossible odds. To this extent I offer the following quote....
"I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you." - The Matrix
I dedicate my vote to the West High School Gay-Straight Alliance in my hometown of Salt Lake City, UT.
They never stopped fighting and neither will I.
This one's for my dad, a moderate conservative who I believe would absolutely relish in the historic significance of this day.
I miss you, dad.
I dedicate my vote for my dad, who passed away in 2005, and would have voted for Obama with tears in his eyes.
Done deal, Dad.
I voted early a couple of weeks ago. But, I retroactively dedicate my vote to my grandmother, Cora, who died 17 years ago at the age of 92. She was born at the turn of the last century. A lifelong progressive from new england, she lived most of her adult life in Hyde Park in Chicago. She would have marvelled at this moment in history. I thank God that her son (my Dad) and her 3 grandkids are all casting votes for Obama.
I also dedicate my vote to my 2 year old son, who is African-American. A Pres. Obama would mean that he truly can be anything he wants to be.
-Ethan in Chicago
I dedicated my vote today to Sister Lillian, my third grade teacher -- the only black nun in our lily white neighborhood. She taught me to write, read and most important to think. In good Chicago tradition, I can't just dedicate to one so I also dedicated it to those brave Sisters who marched in Selma with Dr. King demanding the vote for everyone: Sisters Antona, Margaret Ellen, Mary Luke and all the others.
I dedicate my vote to Del Martin, and especially to my father, who voted for Obama in the Virginia primary three weeks before he died. I think he'd be awfully pleased about now.
My vote - and everything else - is dedicated to my five-year-old son, Adam, with every hope that he gets to have a better world than we've had the past few years.
Richard Nixon was our President during most of my formative years, and I know how that shaped my own view of politics. I can only imagine what President Obama might mean for today's kids as their first memory of elected power.
- Alan in NYC
This one is for my brother Chris Becker who passed away April 2, 2008. When he saw a wrong, he did try to right it, and he believed in Barack and the hopeful message he has delivered. I miss you, Chris. You would have truly loved this.
My vote for Barack Obama is dedicated to my beloved aunt Frances Ford, who I sincerely wish could have lived a few more months to cast her vote in this historic election. You are deeply missed, Fran; here's hoping we get this one right.
I'm dedicating my vote to my 4 month old son with the hopes that a vote for Obama is a vote for a better world for him. I'm also dedicating my No on Prop 8 vote to my son, because when he grows up, I want him to be free to marry whoever he loves, gay or straight.
I dedicate my vote to two groups of important people in my life...for Obama for my 4 and 2 year old nieces (whose Mom and Dad are Mccain supporters btw!). I want them to have a better life with as many choices as they could ever imagine. Also, for 3 of my aunts who are all lesbians in long-term relationships. They should be able to be open and free with their choices in this world.
I dedicate my vote to Kermit Eby for his encouragement in critical thought, humanist values, and progressive issue-based dialogue, despite a community of repression, conservatism, and the unconscious status quo.
Two people:
1) Homer Plessy, for taking the fight to a whole new level and forcing us to think about people of different shades/colors.
2) Someone above called it "selfish" but I will call out my son, Ben, anyhow -- we all want a better life for the future children, and it's only natural to think of your own.
I'd like to dedicate my vote to a stranger- a woman I never knew who did so much. That woman is Madelyn Dunham, Sen. Obama's grandmother, who didn't get to see his destiny come to fruition.
I dedicate my vote to my wonderful Canadian husband. You contribute so much to this country. You work hard, you pay your taxes, you support your American wife financially and emotionally...yet you have no voice in how those taxes are spent, or this country is run.
I'm voting for us both.
I dedicate my vote to all my foreign friends who desperately want an Obama presidency, but cannot vote due to their immigration status. I hope you all can stay as long as you need!
Mine goes to the memory of my father who taught me the value of hard work, to never forget your roots, and who kept a picture of FDR on the living room wall as a reminder that one man can make a difference for everyday working people. You and the union boys would have loved this day....
This is for my dad, who loved the Constitution and was a passionate advocate for what he called the Greatest Document in the History of the World.
In 2000, during the Florida recount debacle, I visited him as he was in the final stages of Alzheimers, pretending nothing was wrong, as usual, holding a copy of Time magazine with the Constitution on the cover and the legend, "Can This Survive?". Only it was upside down.
This one's for turning it right side up.
I am dedicating my vote to my african-american nieces and nephews: Domenica, Laticia, December, Jade, Frank, Ashley and Aaron, because this election is their future. and to Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Medgers Evers and Nelson Mandela.
My grandmother has always been my inspiration. A fan of big jewelery and being a general rabble rouser, she always loved me for just who I was. She died my first year in college and every time something important happens, I still think of her. When Obama lost his grandmother yesterday, it was all I could do not to break down. I wish my grandmother could be here to cast her groundbreaking vote, but I know that she is smiling as we all cast ours. She always made everything seem so possible. So my vote is for her. Yes we can Grammy!
I am dedicating my vote to the gentleman who jumped off of the Aurora Bridge in Seattle yesterday. I'm hoping that my vote for Obama and his vision of the United States will include compassion and caring for our fellow men/women and a renewed committment by the government to fund social programs that provide for the well being of everyone.
I dedicate my vote to you Steve Robinson who could not be here because you were taken by pancreatic cancer last year at 57. You were a catalyst for change and would have relished to see what we all hope for tonight. EB
Here's to you, Lee...because I want to dance and drink at your wedding someday. And I want it to be legal. Just like mine.
I am dedicating my vote to 2 people. The first is my late father who passed away on July 30, 2002. He would be very proud to see an African American become president of the US. My second dedication goes to my 10 yr. old son. He told me as we were driving to school today that a boy in his class hopes McCain wins because if Obama gets in there, he will do to us what we did to African Americans. I was furious to hear that since I know this child is hearing such a ridiculous statement at home. Therefore, I dedicate this to my son so that he may never see the color of a person's skin before he finds the true beauty of the person on the inside.
I dedicate my vote to my husband, Mort, who passed away last year. He knew that Obama would run for President, way back when we heard him give his keynote speech. He was hoping to cast his vote for Obama, so I did it for him, myself and our grandchildren who will have a better world.
I dedicate my vote to our unborn child, who next year will be born into a more hopeful world.
I dedicate my vote to my 9-yr-old daughter who says she reads the Obama/Biden signs as "Obama/Brighten".
to us.
I dedicate my vote to my best friend, in hopes that a vote for Obama is a vote for the eventual change of policy toward same sex couples and their rights. I dedicate my vote to a better future for my yet to be born children and the children of this country already. I believe in a brighter future for myself and for them. I dedicate my vote to all my friends abroad who can hopefully now say they're an american and know they are no longer affiliated with George W. Bush
I proudly cast my vote for Obama in the name of my mother Helen, who stood up to my racist father time and time again through the years and never let the poison of his beliefs damage her good loving heart. This one's for you, Mom.
I dedicate my vote to my grandmother (deceased) and my grandfather (still living) who told me the stories of poll taxes, voting tests and racial violence they endured to vote in Texas. They are two of the greatest Americans I have even known.
I dedicate my vote to my father, Nari Deboo. Dad was an immigrant from India who lived and gave the American dream to his children. He became a voting U.S. citizen before he died, but was always an active citizen in his community, and would have been proud and happy to witness Obama's election today.
I dedicate my vote to my late mother. A fierce believer in the Democratic ideals of FDR and Harry Truman and a woman who worked in a man's world of scientific research long before the advent of mainstream feminism. Thanks Mom for all the love, support, talks (and political rants)!
I dedicate my vote (to Obama, of course) to my late father, who truly believed in justice for all and the importance of stepping up and taking part in the political process. I also dedicate my vote to my mother who has always fought the good fight and continues to do so today.
I dedicate my vote to my Mom, who passed away Oct. 22 and who would have cast a vote for Obama, so passionate was she about exercising her right to do something about an administration she wasn't happy with. She didn't just complain; she believed in acting on it.
For my nieces and nephews they have African heritage -- I am white and they can be president too.
I dedicate my vote to the woman who raised me, Sarah "Buppy" Strothers.
I dedicate my vote to Clementine since she does not have one.
I dedicate my Obama vote to all of those who do NOT understand what is happening in this election, those whose minds have been entrapped by the poisons of talk radio, "conservative" ideology, and we-firsters led by the likes of Sarah Palin. May each of them come to recognize the justice that is done this day
I'm dedicating my vote to my good friend Dick Bluestein, who's in Florida today fighting for truth, justice, and the American way.....God speed, Dick.......you're makin' us all proud!
I had the luxury to vote early in Ohio with my son, daughter, and two granddaughters in tow. Mine is a vote for our future, as hopeful and forward looking citizens of the USA and the World. My dedication is to all the Iron Jawed Angels that organized and fought to be sure I had this right. Thank you ladies!
I voted absentee last week from London, where 250,000 of us Americans live today. I dedicate that vote to the rest of the world, to those who cannot vote today but are in every way that matters as effected by the outcome of this election as we are at home.
i'm dedicating my vote to my dad who i lost this past year. though relatively quiet with respect to his political opinions, in his last 2 years he became particularly enraged about the unprecedented policies and tactics of the bush administration. he had a chance to see obama gaining support and very much believed in him. i think dad is now resting peacefully knowing that this exceptional leader will begin to repair our standing and support in the world at a time where the world needs it the most.
I dedicate my vote to Molly and Gabe. You guys are my inspiration. My purpose for living and the only reason I get up in the morning. Remember - We'll always have "sides."
I dedicate my vote to my grandchildren,the heirs to this world we are leaving. Though they are too young to know what is happening today, with this election there is hope that they will have a better chance to grow up in a country of acceptance, unity, cooperation. Barak Obama's election is the end of the opening chapter, begun with Rosa Parks. The rest of the story? I can hardly wait to turn the page. What an exciting time!
We dedicate our vote to our brother/son/husband who worked dillegently on Barack's campaign. He worked hard canvassing neighborhoods in Indiana. He said, "We have Ill.(where we live) we need Indiana." Ken passed away Sept. 4th. His obit. was "In Lieu of flowers vote democratic." Thanks Ken.
Kiku, because she isn't old enough to vote yet but would share in my choices if she could. She'll help re-elect Obama in 2012.
I dedicate my vote to my mother and my daughter, both of whom died of cancer. Stem cell research is essential and science should not be subjugated to ape-men on the right. Also, high environmental standards are a MUST.
To my Godfather, Jerry Shelton, who died at 55. He could have been saved but he did not have insurance so the hospital watched him die. Universal health care is a must.
I dedicate my vote to the African American man who gave me a ride in his taxi last fall, a few days before the CA primary. He said it would never happen. He looked me in the eyes when he said it, and I detected a hint of pity. He seemed genuinely sorry for the disappointment that he was certain I would experience in the days to come. He said he was old, that he had experienced some bad things in the years leading up to and during the civil rights movement. He’d seen it play out one to many times before. But I couldn’t let go of the overwhelming hope I was feeling. I told him I believed with all of my heart that this could really happen. He just half smiled and said “Well I don’t think so but let’s hope you’re right.” As I paid my fare and got out of the cab, I told him that I hoped so too, and that I also hoped that I would get to see him again someday if it does. I will never forgot him.
My vote for Obama is dedicated to our child who will hopefully be born this June. It is for you that I hope that today is the beginning of a new and better world. I hope that your father and I will raise you to share our sense of awe at the power that people have to make effective change.
I'm dedicating my vote for my brother Ken Swanborn who passed away Sept 4, 2 months before this very day. He dedicated his life to Obama and even had "In Leau of Flowers Vote Democratic".
To all the teachers who encourage the next generation to read widely, question broadly, and care deeply.
Although we have voted and the ballots have been counted, I will never forget the people whose faces filled my mind as I darkened in the name of the president I voted for. I dedicated my vote to my grandparents Harrison Sr. and Mildred Jones upon whose pride in their culture, sweat, love, hard work, and dedication my life was built. I voted as a part of their lineage upon this earth.
My father ran for Congress 60 years ago this year in a heavily Republican district. He probably knew he couldn't win, but as one who had lost his father at age six, helped pull his mom and siblings through the Depression, and spent four years in the US Navy in WWII, daunting odds were no reason to run and hide. As a loving husband, father, friend, and country lawyer he spent his life helping others. Daddy passed away in 1996, and I am sure he would have been saddened at what our country has become in recent years. I voted for Barack Obama, and I dedicate my vote to my dad. Now I pledge to work to make it a country he can be proud of again.
Thanks for creating this my friend. I dedicate my vote to my mother who passed away in September. An activist her entire life, she worked for the Obama campaign from home even as ALS was taking over. She dreamt about just this sort of a historic election her entire life- not for her, but for our country and dreams for a better and just future for all.
I imagine her seeing and experiencing this through my eyes.
Fifty years ago, I stood in a small solemn circle with African American students at Southern Connecticut State College following the assassination of Dr. King. A part of my heart had gone. My vote yesterday could only be dedicated to his dream, his life and the lives of Medgar Evers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Emmett Till, Violet Liuzzo, four little girls in Birmingham, and the courageous efforts of all those who walked, sat-in, marched, sang and fought for equality and dignity. Free at last, free at last!
To Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman--Mission Accomplished. We voted, and the votes counted.
I think mine was for my great-aunt, who died before election night but not before voting early in Michigan. Right before she died the doctors asked her who was president, and she exclaimed "Obama!"
Bobby Kennedy.
I dedicate my vote to Molly. She was born a slave and became the wife of a sharecropper.
She was a kind and loving person who was dear to me.
She died two years after Brown v Board of Ed. She could neither read nor write but lived to see the first great crack in segragation and on November 4, 2008, "she pulled the lever" neither she nor I could imagine existing.
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