i blog for obama

After realizing on Sunday night that today, Tuesday, was my flex day, I decided I would spend the day in Denver, checking out the DNC happenings. Of course, I'm not all that important of a person in the eyes of our government, particularly the Democratic party, nor do I have awesome hookups like some people, so I wasn't able to get into any cool events -- but I did have an amazing day!

My first stop was Larimer Square, which is one of my favorite downtown spots and happens to be near the Pepsi Center, so I assumed a lot would be going on. There were a lot of people and a beautiful display of all the state flags, but nothing all that interesting; however, I did score a couple of sweet Obama t-shirts, one of which will be sent to my mom, who swore she would sport an Obama shirt if she had one. Well, now she does! :)

Next, I headed up Larimer to the Manifest Hope gallery, which features some of Shepard Fairey's work. It was a long walk from downtown (and I got sunburnt), but the awesome art I found along the way completely made it worth it -- and, of course, the art in the gallery was incredibly inspiring. Here are some photos of my favorites:


Once back downtown, I walked to Union Station, where MSNBC had set up their broadcasting booth. Chris Matthews' Hardball program was being recorded while I stood in the midst of an insane crowd. The majority of the people surrounding me were yelling and holding signs, most of which challenged the current White House administration and their involvement in 9/11. One man thought it would be best to protest via song, which actually drew much more attention that I ever would have assumed. As the crowd grew louder and more intense, I decided it might be a good idea to remove myself from it. Only then did I realize that we were surrounded by about 75 policemen in riot gear. Yikes! I didn't stick around to find out what happened next.


As I walked away, I heard my name being yelled out and turned around to see an old friend, Kenny, from Ohio. We chatted for awhile, attempted to get into an event to hear Arianna Huffington speak, but were unsuccessful; however, I did get a sweet free t-shirt and beer koozie that states, "I blog for Obama," while standing outside of the event, which eased the pain of rejection.

As I rode the bus home from Denver to Boulder, I reflected on the day. Out of all the classes that I took in high school, my Civil Rights class was my favorite. I'm not exactly sure why I was so passionate about the subject. I mean, I think everyone should be to some degree, but I absolutely thrived on learning new things in this class. The history fascinated me. How it was possible that people within my parents' and grandparents' lifetime could have treated Blacks in such a manner astounded me. I remember sitting in class, horrified while watching a video about the murder of Emmitt Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed for calling a white woman "baby."

Consider these dates:

1954: Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus
1955: Murder of Emmitt Till
1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech
1965: Voting Rights Act passed
1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated

And here we are, just 40 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, witnessing a black man being nominated for President of the United States. As I watched Michelle Obama speak about growing up on the south side of Chicago, and she and her brother being supported by a father who had multiple sclerosis, and about Barack being raised by a single mother in Hawaii, I was even more proud of my country and excited about the possibility of them being in the White House. It seems as though Dr. King's dream is indeed coming true.

All over Denver today, I saw the words hope and change affiliated with Barack's face. For most, these words probably bring about thoughts concerning insurance for the masses, bringing the troops home from Iraq, and improving our economic situation; however, for me, they cause me to think about how our country has already changed -- and how it will continue to change. In the last 40 years, we have gone from blacks being forced to give up their seats for whites to a black couple being cheered on to the White House. And that gives me hope.


Check out more photos from my day here.