Vote 2008

Greetings, all. 53 yrs. ago, a 14 year-old black boy named Emmett Till was brutally killed in Mississippi. 40 yrs. ago, 39 year-old Nobel Prize Winner, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis during his nonviolent antipoverty campaign. Last year, 23 year-old Sean Bell was killed by New York City police on his wedding day.
In the words of Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine, Angela Burt-Murray, "For much of the past, the reality for too many African-Americans has been one of disaffection, disappointment and despair. More often than not, our dreams of empowerment are sent back with a rejection stamp from the mainstream stating, "No, you can't." Those words have echoed through so many generations that many of us have accepted them as truth. That's why, no matter whom you vote for, the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama is historic. Although he is not the 1st. black man to run for president, he is the only one to capture a major party's nomination. For my parents and grandparents, the prospect of a black president has been as remote as the prospect of catching lightning in a bottle."

Being taught of the struggles, the hangings, the beatings and pure torture of what our ancestors had to endure to make sure that their children and their children's children would have a voice in making decisions involving the matters of the world must urge us to vote. Not only is it our right, more importantly, it's our moral duty and obligation. Shame on everyone, myself included, if you're not registered to vote. How dare we say, "I'm only 1 vote, it won't count."
Look at it this way, if your life was on the line and you needed only 1 more person to speak on your behalf and validate why your life was worth saving, wouldn't you beg and plead for that person to step up to the plate? Well, guess what folks, our lives are on the line, as well as our finances, our job security, our pensions and health insurance. Please do the right thing and vote. We owe it to our ancestors and to our children. It is disgraceful and down right disrespectful to bite the hands of those who have fed us, trailblazed for us and lost their lives so that we can have a voice.

Kita