I first met Barack Obama when he was running for the United States Senate in 2004. I was immediately impressed with his incredible vision for the potential of our country and his ability to inspire other people to see this potential as well. I was inspired and excited with his ability to break barriers, his commitment to inclusion and his message of hope.
We share common life experiences – we are both lawyers, we were both raised by strong women, we are both African American, we are both of the same generation. We grew up in an age of racial tension in our country. We each pursued a career in law because our heroes were the architects of the Civil Rights Movement – lawyers such as Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley and Charles Hamilton Houston.
We both believe to make effective change in this country, you must strengthen and build strong coalitions of diverse people and abandon the status quo of divide and conquer. I heard him speak of these principles during his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston. During his speech, Barack spoke of the need for our country to move beyond its divisiveness and of the common ground Americans share, saying, “there is not a Black American and a White America and a Latino America and Asian America – there’s the United States of America.”
Every day in his interactions with the American people, this is the message that he embodies. I know as President, he will unite this country. We both believe you must move beyond the tired old debates of false choices. We can have affordable healthcare without spiraling costs. We can have safe communities by focusing not just on prosecution but also on prevention. We can be smart on crime by wisely investing our resources and fixing broken systems.
My support for Barack is grounded in respect and admiration for him as an individual. However, I’m also inspired by the thousands of people who are supportive of his vision. This is not about one election, this is about changing the way we do politics. The energy and enthusiasm surrounding his candidacy is something that is extremely rare and will help us to truly transform this country.
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