Stephanie Denise Brown

It's disappointing that Prop 8 passed. This ELIMINATED rights. I wonder if some people understood that YES meant NO, in this case. Such things can be confusing and since first time voter turnout was very high, many people may have thought they were voting one way when in fact, they were voting for the other.

I'm proud that I convinced my father to vote No. My sister and I voted No. I was never able to get my best friend and mother behind us but these fights for equality are never over.

We can't become comfortable or complacent after electing the first African American for President of the United States. Barack Obama mentioned in his victory speech that the work starts with all of us. How can we continue building unity? That's the task before us. Let's keep pushing ahead and soon--there WILL be changes! We have to force these things and that often takes time. African Americans didn't go from slavery to equal rights. For many many years, we were stuck with the dirty water fountains, dilapidated schools, etc. There are people who think you're less and nothing will change their minds (not even a black president). People with that mentality aren't willing to give you that equality--you have to fight and fight and keep fighting. Always.

Don't stop fighting for your rights.

I think my friend bittermint makes a wonderful post about what this all means. Unfortunately, I think it's friends locked, so you may need to be added to read. I highly recommend!

I should just turn off the internet. Yes, that's what I need to do because these stories about minorities being harassed and disenfranchised is making my heart race:

Latinos in Nevada were called from "official Barack Obama representatives" to take their "vote by phone." (This would keep them away from the polls on Tuesday.)

Two Latina women were threatened by their community members in New Mexico to vote Republican or "face deportation." (They are really citizens of this country and were rightly offended.)

African American communities in Philly received expensive glossy professional-looking mailers that said "because the voter turnout is expected to create long wait lines, there will be two voting days: Tuesday and Wednesday." (This is supposed to keep African Americans at home because we are expected to actually vote this year.)

And it goes on and on...

I've been talking with my family and close friends. We're hoping with all our hearts Barack wins and we pray for him and his family daily but will we be surprised if he doesn't make it to the White House? Hell no. These tactics are not new. Being black, nothing surprises you and you learn to wait before officially celebrating. (For those who don't know their Black History, Juneteenth is a great example of this.)

Tuesday is going to be a long day and something tells me we'll have to fight for this, even if Barack Obama is declared the next president.