Organizing Fellows: Andy in Ohio

post from Obama HQ on 23 July 2008 04:10:23 PM. © Obama HQ

As part of a continuing series, we're following Obama Organizing Fellows as they share their stories and their experiences. They discuss the people they meet, the hardships of organizing, what the campaign means to them, and how this summer is changing their perspective.

Andy is an Organizing Fellow in Ohio. His stories appear each Wednesday.

This past weekend marked the 160th anniversary of the historic Seneca Falls convention -- the first women's rights convention in the United States. The Obama campaign commemorated the importance of th women's rights movement by conducting Woman to Woman events, contacting voters and encouraging them to participate in the upcoming elections.

Many of these events across Ohio were coordinated with local female candidates who are running for office. I had the fortune of going to one such event.

It was at the home of Marian Harris, who is running for state representative in the 19th district of Ohio. We all gathered around her kitchen table to listen as she unveiled her strategy for our afternoon canvass.

Marian explained her plans to improve education, the economy, health care and the environment for Ohioans by working with her community and the governor. This was valuable information for us because we could then communicate it to the voters we met. It was also exciting to hear how similar these four goals are to Senator Obama's.
Before we went out, I got to ask her what this canvass meant to her. She told me that "I am doing this to celebrate Seneca Falls and my grandchildren's future". She is encouraged by working with the Obama campaign because of the way it is collaborating with local communities and drawing on the knowledge base of everyday Americans. I wanted to ask her more questions, but I didn't have the time. There were voters to be registered!

Marian divided up the canvass packets with addresses and maps. We then paired up and headed out to knock on doors. I teamed up with Organizing Fellow Hajra and we traveled to our neighborhood.

On the way over I asked Hajra what brought her here. She had just graduated from college and told me she was doing this because this campaign was the "cause of all causes". Before coming to the Obama campaign, Hajra worked with non-profit groups to collaborate with developing nations to solve womens issues. She came here because Senator Obama embodies the goals she worked on prior to the campaign. Obama shares Hajra's commitment to ending violence against women, creating economic opportunity and ensuring that women are represented in our government.

This fellowship has Hajra working harder than she ever has before. Through this hard work she has learned "to be self-confident and not to worry about being Muslim or having an Arabic name. Most of all, as someone who hasn't held many leadership positions in the past, I've learned that I'm capable of empowering communities to act for change." All of her hard work is driven by her hope for "stability for better communities, better nations, and ultimately, a better world."

Hajra and I canvassed the neighborhood while the summer sun bore down on us. We knocked on hundreds of doors, spoke to tons of people, and registered a lot of new voters. There were times when we were tempted to go swimming in the community pool, but we knew we made the right decision to keep on knocking when we spoke with Byrnette back in the office.
She comes to this movement because she thinks womens issues are common sense issues. "They are not idealistic, they are practical and grounded in other issues" she said. Juggling all the roles that are required of her is a concern for Byrnette. Between being disabled, on a fixed income, and having one child in college with another on the way, she told me that it can be worrisome at times.

But in the face of these concerns she does not back down. Instead she fights even harder to advance our cause of creating equality and opportunity for all. She is a tabling captain this upcoming weekend at the Jazz and Rib fest in Columbus. She enjoys working at tabling events because "not only do I get to meet a lot of volunteers, but I get to meet a lot of voters. There are a lot of reasons that people don't show up to the polls, so I encourage them to check all of their information and make sure there on not any surprises on election day." Her favorite thing is when people register for the first time. "We need hope for something positive in the face of all the drama and violence. You see that when you register someone who has never registered in their life."

This week has been inspirational for me. It has reminded me that the advancement of civil rights can only be achieved when people of all backgrounds band together to create change. We cannot wait for one person or one group to make the difference; we must all act now.