A remarkable day. Thousands of people from all fifty states participating. Thousands of streets walked. Thousands of doors knocked. Thousands of conversations. A day that, without doubt, not only made a difference for this campaign, but made a difference in real communities across this country. Here's the story of one Walk for Change.
Dozens of supporters showed up at Harmon Field in Charleston this morning in the unforgiving South Carolina summer heat. Hot, sweaty, and fired up for change, they broke up into neighborhood teams, met with their group organizers, and went over their canvassing guidelines. Charleston's regional field director Kevin pumped up the crowd.
As the groups began to disperse, I decided to tag along with a passionate volunteer headed for the neighborhood of North Charleston. Reverend Scipio told that he was walking because he believes Barack will provide much-needed health care coverage for the people in his community.
Reverend Scipio was a tireless canvasser. When people didn't respond, he made sure to leave literature. When people told him they didn't want to talk, undeterred yet respectfully, he'd say "Well, ok, that's fine, I understand. Would you mind taking this literature to learn a little bit more about the Senator?"
Nearly everyone who was home, though, showed genuine interest in hearing about Barack. Several pledged to support him and many said they were leaning towards supporting him. Only one person responded with an unequivocal "Not interested!" when the Reverend approached him. As we began to walk away, though, his teenage son poked his head out of the door and said, "Hey you guys are with Obama? Can I see that? I'm interested."
The canvass was very successful. But throughout the day, it became clear that there was something else happening-- something much bigger than merely checking off names and drumming up support for Barack. People were talking about the collective challenges facing their communities. People were sharing common hopes for change in 2008. People were connecting. And in Reverend Scipio's case, reconnecting.
The very last door Reverend Scipio knocked on brought a surprise-- the man who answered was a classmate from North Charleston High School, Class of 1969. The two hadn't seen each other in nearly four decades. After catching up, the gentleman introduced Reverend Scipio to his son-- and the Reverend, ever the canvasser, made sure to sign up the young man to register to vote. Both father and son enthusiastically agreed to support Barack and spread the word in their community.
This is one of many remarkable stories from a singularly remarkable day. We know there are tons more, and we want to hear them. Please share your stories with us in the comments section below, or better yet, in your own my.BarackObama.com blog. And if you've got video or photos, upload them here.
Thanks again to all of you who participated. You made history. We won't forget it, and neither will you.
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