Friend --
Do you remember where you were on Inauguration Day?
I do. It was bitter cold in D.C. and we met up very early -- 5 a.m. It was still dark that January morning when we left to go witness history together.
That day was proof that anything really is possible.
All those nights talking about it, waiting, working for Barack Obama and others who had paved the way before him -- and it was here. Our community had come together, and our candidate was about to move into the White House. We hugged strangers and danced in the street. We were freezing, but we didn't care -- this day had come.
The pride we felt wasn't just about the color of his skin, or my own.
It was about a candidate who stood up for people in the middle class and those struggling to get there -- someone who skipped the corporate career path to start working on the South Side of Chicago, helping jobless workers in the shadow of a closed-down steel mill.
African Americans have a huge role to play in this campaign because we intend to finish what we started. When people ask why we should elect President Obama again, it'll be up to us get his back, tell the story of what he has done to help our community, and then sign them up for the work ahead.
Today, as our nation kicks off African American History Month, the campaign is launching African Americans for Obama. Will you join?
When President Obama took the oath of office, our economy was losing jobs at a record pace. He inherited a system that allowed a shrinking number of people to get ahead while the rest of us fell behind.
So he went to work for an economy where hard work, not just wealth, is rewarded. And despite some very real challenges, we've seen progress that reflects our shared values as a community:
-- Secured $3.4 billion to support more than 1,100 contracts and financings for African-American businesses through the Minority Business Development Agency.
-- Invested $2.5 billion in HBCUs and minority-serving institutions and doubled funding for Pell Grants their students rely on.
-- Saved more than 1.4 million jobs in the auto industry alone, which supports tens of thousands of middle-class jobs for African Americans.
-- Passed the Affordable Care Act, extending health coverage to 7 million more African Americans and investing billions in community health centers.
-- Passed a payroll tax cut for 18.5 million African-American workers.
-- Invested in education and early learning programs like Head Start.
-- Put in place protections against unfair practices by payday lenders and check cashers -- predatory businesses that disproportionately target African Americans.
-- Helped more than 57,000 African-American families get permanent mortgage modifications; required mortgage companies to offer 12 months of forbearance to qualified unemployed borrowers; and assisted more than 1 million Americans with rental costs, moving costs, and utility bills through the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program.
If that doesn't get you going, remember we'll be facing an opponent who could not be more out of touch with the needs of our community. Yesterday in Florida, Mitt Romney said, for the second time, that we shouldn't step in to stop fraudulent foreclosures, and he's previously said that if he were president he would allow investors to come in and make a quick buck instead.
In some ways this election is more important than the last.
Throughout the campaign, you'll be able to join your local neighborhood team as a barber shop and beauty salon captain, congregation captain, or black business captain, or organize at your historically black college or university.
African Americans for Obama will be our Obama family for the next nine months, and beyond that for a second term. Sign up here:
http://my.barackobama.com/African-American... Thanks,
Michael
Michael Blake
Operation Vote Deputy Director
Obama for America
P.S. -- The President has some words for us on the launch of African Americans for Obama. Watch his message (https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/join-african-americans-for-obama-video?
Sign up and then pass this message on to your friends and family who should get involved, too.
Passing the peace,
Posted By: agnes levine
Thursday, February 2nd 2012 at 10:15AM
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