Year in Photos By Pete Souza White House Photographer Pete Souza
Shares moments from President Barack Obama's first year in office.
82 photos | 264,237 views items are from between 02 Feb 2008 & 30 Oct 2009 click here |
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Dear Members and Friends
99 years of struggle by the members and supporters of the NAACP came to a head in a single glorious moment when the electorate surged and broke the color line that has guarded the White House since the day it was built… by slaves.
Yesterday children with foreign-sounding names learned that they too can be President of the United States, and the electoral aspiration of almost an entire generation of young American voters was realized.
On this historic day, we congratulate the President-Elect, and we honor the memory of freedom fighters like Dr. Martin Luther King, Ida B. Wells, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, and so many others who gave their lives so that America might truly become the land of opportunity for all people. Their sacrifice made this day possible.
Full electoral participation has always been a driving goal of the NAACP, and NAACP leaders around the country rose to the challenge.
In North Carolina, thanks to the work of committed NAACPers, voters were spared intimidating specters like the casket bearing a candidate's name that someone placed in front of a polling place in Craven County a few days earlier…
In California, local NAACP members went into local jails to ensure that every eligible voter was registered…
In Mississippi and Maine, the fieldwork of NAACP leaders meant that the number of voters surged even though they received relatively little attention from national campaigns…
In places like Florida and Ohio, thanks to NAACPers who pushed for voting reforms after the debacles of 2000 and 2004, the election ran much more smoothly…
In Alabama and Georgia, NAACP leaders led the charge to restore voting rights to thousands of former felons…
And in states like Indiana and Pennsylvania, NAACP lawsuits to protect voters paid off big time.
Because of the work of committed NAACP supporters like you, across the country we saw precincts with 95% voter registration rates, volunteers processed tens of thousands of calls to the 866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection hotline, and get out the vote efforts across the country targeted every single eligible voter.
Yes, yesterday was great day. But, it's only a glimmer of how bright our future can be when we work together.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Jealous
President & CEO
