George,

On Sunday, January 20th a group of four from Charlottesville traveled down to Orangeburg, SC to celebrate Martin Luther King Day by working to get out the vote for Barack Obama. We arrived in Orangeburg (site of the Orangeburg Massacre of 1968) to find a storefront bustling with activity and filled with energy. When we asked how we could help we were encouraged to GOTV (Get Out The Vote). So we did ... that evening and all day Monday. We knocked on over 130 doors and shared the news about our candidate of choice.

We spent the bulk of our time in a neighborhood that reflected the struggle faced by so many Americans. These were the working poor. The people who work in service to the Orangeburg community ... living amidst aged litter in dwellings that rival my image of the third world. Doors were opened in response to the rare knock of an outsider seeking their vote. More often than not we were told of a desire to exercise the occupant's right to vote and the intention to vote for our candidate, Barack Obama. It was a good experience, filled with lessons both obvious and yet to be discovered. A great way for me to experience canvassing (for a candidate) for the first time!

I will end this entry with a favorite quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech:

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

Kelli Palmer, Cville4Obama (Electronic mail, January 23, 2008)