Thousands of Students March 7 Miles To Vote

[Blue State Bandit]

This is pure inspiration!

From http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/19/thousands-of-students-march-7-miles-to-vote/">Crooks And Liars.com

-snip-

Early voting starts today in Texas. In Waller County, a primarily rural county about 60 miles outside Houston, the county made the decision to offer only one early voting location: at the County Courthouse in Hempstead, TX, the county seat.

Prairie View A&M students organized to protest the decision, because they felt it hindered their ability to vote. For background, Prairie View A&M is one of Texas’ historically Black universities. It has a very different demographic feel than the rest of the county. There has been a long history of dispute over what the students feel is disenfranchisement. There was a lot of outrage in 2006, when students felt they were unfairly denied the right to vote when their registrations somehow did not get processed.

-snip-

1000 students, along with an additional 1000 friends and supporters, are this morning walking the 7.3 miles between Prairie View and Hempstead in order to vote today. According to the piece I saw on the news (there’s no video up, so I can’t link to it), the students plan to all vote today. There are only 2 machines available at the courthouse for early voting, so they hope to tie them up all day and into the night.

-snip-




The resurection of the Texas Democratic Party is on the march!

UPDATE: Students Protest Lack of Early Voting Locations http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=5814149&version=1&locale=EN-US">VIDEO w/ backstory from, get this...

FOXNEWS (Houston Local)

[adadem]

1. totally awesome n/t

[eleny]

2. Wow

I'm 61 and .... :cry:

[adabfree]

3. WOW....AWESOME..looks like the 60's

[Barack_America]

4. Wow. That is a beautiful sight. No matter who you're supporting.

That picture has actually brought tears to my eyes.

Now THAT'S something that makes me REALLY proud of this country (and something that I've never seen before in my adult life). There's just no downside to this.

[adabfree]

5. This should be in the MSM

[Barack_America]

15. If the MSM is worth anything anymore, they will cover this...

heavily.

[AikidoSoul]

132. You and me both honey

:hi:

[K Gardner]

6. Ok, well, long night after a couple long days. This made me cry. Thanks

for postingi this. Its what America can and will be again. I wish I could've walked with them. :applause:

[Coexist]

7. that is beautiful.

wow.

[Johnny__Motown]

8. OMG, that is simply moving. I hope this is on every newscast for a week

[Melinda]

9. Amazing... this reminds me so much of 1968; lots of tears here!!

:grouphug: to them all!!

[GainesT1958]

10. That picture...

Really does have a "Selma-to-Montgomery" feel to it, doesn't it?

Here's hoping every one of them got to vote--and not on a Diebold machine, either!:D

B-)

[adabfree]

19. On CNN Paul Begala just said his younger brother Chris..who is a

republican and organized the press conference for Bush 41 to endorse Mccain, said in the last Presidential election, during early voting in Harris County (Bush country) 1200 people showed up. Guess what? Today, 12000 showed up, and 9400 of them were Democrats..and he expects it to go good for Obama in Harris County..that's the word down younder in Texas!!

March 4th is going to be interesting...and we know those kids marching are most likely voting for Obama too...

I'm sure it will be discussed heavily on the Tom Joyner Morning show tomorrow..even if the MSM doesn't cover it..I'll get my fill from Black America Web..and Tom Joyner...how freakin' awesome..

[thevoiceofreason]

21. We're working like dogs here to GOTV

Big push on all fronts.

The rally tonight in Houston was amazing. Folks weeping all around me. People devoid of hope for so long finally have a champion. Heaven help those who would try diry politics to stand in the way.

[adabfree]

25. Heaven Help Us All indeed...Stevie Wonder says it best...

Heaven help the child who never had a home,
Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.

Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day,
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away,
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl,
Heaven help us all.

Heaven help us all, heaven help us all, help us all.
Heaven help us, lord, hear our call when we call
Oh, yeah!

Heaven help the boy who wont reach twenty-one,
Heaven help the man who gave that boy a gun.
Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall,
Lord, heaven help us all.

Heaven help us all, heaven help us all, heaven help us all, help us all.
Heaven help us, lord, hear our call when we call.

Now I lay me down before I go to sleep.
In a troubled world, I pray the lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
And the mighty from the small,
Heaven help us all.
Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Heaven help us all.

[southern_belle]

83. I love that! What is the name of the song?

[Vilis Veritas]

114. Heaven Help Us All

Stevie Wonder...composed by Ron Miller...

[Divernan]

141. Here's the YouTube link to hear Stevie sing this great anti-war protest song from the 70's

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGZC0oMFo8

[southern_belle]

146. Thank you.

:hi:

[blogslut]

11. So beautiful

speechless here

[Barack_America]

12. Please consider rec'ing this.

If there ever were something that needs to go on the front page (not just the greatest page)

[nomorewhopper]

13. great post.

[grantcart]

14. Its been a long time since I had so many opportunities to be this proud of my country

[NastyRiffraff]

16. That is WONDERFUL!!!

What a lovely picture! I don't care who they're voting for (probably most of them for Obama). They're heroes!

[stillrockin]

17. Now THAT makes me proud!

[grantcart]

18. look carefully. . I mean if you get your eyes right next to the scree you can see that they are

FIRED UP AND READY TO VOTE

[cali]

20. inspiring.

and yes, this is what hope looks like. Mock this, if you dare.

[grantcart]

22. More pictures now available

[WolverineDG]

79. They tied up traffic too!

Good on you kids!!

They've been given a lot of crap by the local government. I hope they keep those machines tied up for DAYS!

dg

[AnneD]

122. The local government...

has been dicking with student votes forever there in Waller County. If they just count the votes and get over themselves-things would be fine. Students don't put up much of a stink in local elections unless you tell them they can't vote.

[bread_and_roses]

23. amazing and wonderful - a K & R

it makes tired, jaded old me feel hopeful for our Country again.

[Barack_America]

24. More pics here (link)

http://media.myfoxhouston.com/news/2008-02-19/pvamuvote/index.html

And, yes, some of the students do appear to be "Fired Up and Ready to Go". ;)

[adabfree]

26. This country is on the verge of something big...we need only embrace it..

I'm really proud..7 miles...to vote..

[aaronbees]

27. Those pics are great

So proud! :D

[theHandpuppet]

28. Very very cool

Thanks for posting this.

[MagickMuffin]

29. WOW, it appears they are pissed about being disenfranchised over and over again

Not this time.


FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH

[I Vote In Pittsburgh]

38. Notice the lack of signs identifying themselves with a candidate n/t

[MagickMuffin]

45. I did notice one Obama sign in the other pics

[Barack_America]

47. Lol!

Same pic too!

:D

[Barack_America]

46. Welll...

Not a TOTAL lack of signs.

http://media.myfoxhouston.com/news/2008-02-19/pvamuvote/slides/march7.html

[krkaufman]

30. This story and pic just gave me chills. Thanks. n/t

[Cha]

31. Beautiful!! This is what we've been HOPING

for the last 8 years!

[David Zephyr]

117. Howz about that picture, zidzi?

How inspiring is that?

[DUyellow]

32. GO Prairie View!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[krkaufman]

33. p.s. And it also frickin outrages me.

A just Civil Rights division in the US Justice Department would be investigating the board/supervisor of elections in that county.

[MagickMuffin]

44. Sorry but NOT with mad king Boy George's Civil Rights division

they dismantled it a long long time ago:cry:

I was hoping the same thing back in 2000, never happened though. Which was proof enough for me to acknowledge the rethuglicons are racist MOFOS.

[krkaufman]

48. Hell, I'd almost be happy if they'd dismantled it.

Instead, they've turned it on its head, like with every other agency, and are employing it in causes anti-thetical to civil rights. Less harm would have been done if they'd simply shut the department down.

[thoughtcrime1984]

54. As KO said to Shrub

You are a FASCIST! Trickle down bullshit at its finest.

[Blue State Bandit]

34. Local copy w/ numbers from Dallas and Tarrant Co.

Here are some voting result numbers from Tuesday afternoon.

2008 compaired to 2004
--------------------------------------------------
Dallas County Early Voting.

Democrats 6452 911

Republicans 1906 390

---------------------------------------------------
Tarrant County Early Voting

Democrats 3797 472

Republicans 1732 332


Many voters who talked to CBS 11 News said they're excited, because they finally feel like their voices will be heard in this election.



http://cbs11tv.com/local/early.voting.Texas.2.657977.html

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/482431.html

[WolverineDG]

81. Of all the efforts made to get voters to the polls

who knew giving them an actual choice in the primary was the best?

:shrug:

Numbers are up here too---60 voting, mostly on paper, by 10:30 am in just one of many locations & the location across the street from that was just as hopping. That was the only stat I saw & I haven't read the local rag yet to see the final tally for yesterday.

dg

[AtomicKitten]

35. Viva Democracy!

What a wonderful inspiring story! Thanks for posting!

K&R

[Kitty Herder]

36. That is so cool!! nt

[Lucinda]

37. That's awesome!

Thanks for posting this. :)

[gateley]

39. This gives me hope for our future - What great Americans! nt

[Withywindle]

40. Goosebumps.

Bless them.

[billyoc]

41. I don't care who they're voting for, that's a great sight to see.

:patriot:

[grantcart]

61. thank you for your nice post

[Blue State Bandit]

42. Video "Students Protest Lack of Early Voting Locations"

And get this...

from FOX(26)NEWS?

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=5814149&version=1&locale=EN-US

[Barack_America]

43. I saw that. Thanks! n/t

[FrenchieCat]

49. Awesome Movement!

How beautiful that is!

[JustinL]

50. thank you for posting this

What a beautiful affirmation of democracy!

[grantcart]

51. kick it again

[jspence]

52. My first post!

This is my very first post on DU, after lurking a few days, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. Both my parents got thier Master from PVAMU, so i grew up, basically, on campus! It's absolutely great to see this stuff going on!

[grantcart]

53. welcome unfortunately for you this is about the greates post I have

ever seen so it is all down hill from here lol Are you supporting Obama?

[Bodhi BloodWave]

55. Welcome to DU, may you enjoy your stay here

There are some crazies on all sides here as you may have noticed, luckily they tend to be easy to sidestep :)

as for the OP itself, its a great and wonderful thing to see, a pity i am in Norway as i wish i could walk alongside them

[barbtries]

73. welcome to DU

these pictures have made me cry, you must feel really affected.

[sonias]

109. Welcome to DU jspence

:hi:


Sonia

[NoSheep]

111. Welcome to DU!

:hi: This is really so encouraging! I hope more young people will be inspired to exercise their right to vote!

[Barack_America]

115. Welcome!

What a thread for a first post!

:toast:

[mdmc]

139. The worst part of being a bleeding heart liberal

is that everything makes me tear up :cry:

Welcome to DU. Peace and low stress.

[Raster]

142. Welcome to DU!!! You ARE among FRIENDS!

[BringBigDogBack]

56. One of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

Big KR.

[grantcart]

57. Does anybody know if they are going to walk back for the caucus?

If they do that then there should be national media there

[sonias]

107. This is only for early voting

For the caucus part, that is done by PCT so there will be more voting locations on election day March 4th. So they will not have to walk back on the 4th. There will be a precinct voting locations on or near Prairie View. They should all know about the Texas Two-Step - they're smart college students.

The original blog post, to give credit where credit is due was dewberry from Daily Kos
Prairie View Students March to Vote (TX) - now w/photo link

Sonia

[Eurobabe]

58. Aint No Stoppin' US NOW!!

:woohoo:

[GoldieAZ49]

59. Awesome!!!!!

I heard over 13,000 early votes were cast today in Texas, 9000 of them Democrats!!!!

[Tatiana]

60. HUGE K&R. Folks, this is really a movement. We are taking our votes seriously & they WILL COUNT. n/t

[VenusRising]

62. Now that's what Democracy looks like!

Good for them. :yourock::applause::toast:

:kick: and a rec!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

63. The times they are a changing.

That is the best GOTV movement I've ever seen in my life. That it's taking place in Waller County actually brought tears to my eyes.

My soul needed to see this. For all I've heard from talking to others in my state somethings words simply cannot convey.

[grantcart]

64. is this getting any local media?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

67. I didn't hear about it on my local (Austin) news

I only caught half of the early edition though and it hadn't hit the presses yet then. The AP has picked it up now so it will be spread far and wide to all our media outlets, both print and television, today. :D

[EmilyAnne]

65. OMG! My family is from Waller! My cousin is married to the daughter of their county judge.

That man (the county judge of Waller) is one of the most ignorant, racist sons of an asshole you could ever imagine. I remember his jokes about Juneteenth, MLK day, black athletes, black people on welfare, etc. One joke in particular was about James Byrd Jr, the man who was dragged to death by the back of a truck in Jaspar, TX. I am not exaggerating when I say that the only things I ever remember coming out this idiot's mouth were hello, goodbye, and some kind of racist joke. And he had a position of authority in this community! I am not surprised to hear that these students were treated like this and it kicks ass that they brought it into the public eye. These good old boys I grew up around want to be bigots, but only in the most insidious ways. They like to keep it nice and institutional. Now that it has been picked up by the media, they'll be singing a different tune. I love it.

Aaah.... its reminiscences like this that remind me why I haven't talked to that side of my family in years.

[FlyingSquirrel]

66. It's too bad those who remove GDP from the Latest/Greatest won't see this...

Too bad.

[grantcart]

68. It is in greatest threads

[FlyingSquirrel]

118. Ya but those are now blocked to people who choose to block GDP

from latest threads. Try it yourself, it's actually quite nice to be able to escape the madness for a little while.

[EFerrari]

120. It's in LBN and GD, too. n/t

[Moh96]

69. McCain this is the false hope you were talking about

MSM this is the hope we do not know for what
This is the change we do not know to what

This is the new America that we are REALLY proud of

DO YOU GET IT NOW?


now matter how down we felt, no matter how the few last years made us feel ashamed of ourself
We Never Lost Hope
We will restore America, We Will HOPE

I LOVE THIS COUNTRY
I LOVE THIS COUNTRY
I LOVE THIS COUNTRY

[girl gone mad]

70. So inspiring. n/t

[SalmonChantedEvening]

71. Outstanding!!

K&R!! :applause: :patriot:

[tishaLA]

72. My cynicism is melting away

I really do have hope again, for the first time.

[Skidmore]

74. Anyone who tries to suppress the vote is seriously flirting with

political suicide. This makes me proud!

[susankh4]

75. Even a Hillary Supporter can see the beauty

in this!

It's a wonderful sight to behold.

[NOLALady]

103. This is not about Obama or Hillary.

This is about disenfranchisement.

Some will vote for Hillary. Others will vote for Obama. But they will make sure that they will have a part in the political process.

[yellowdogintexas]

76. totally incredible and awe inspiring! I love it nt

[workinclasszero]

77. A picture of a movement

All hope is not lost! Its a new day in America! Bush and his thug party tried like hell to kill the American dream but as we can all see he has failed miserably!

This movement is so like Bobby Kennedy in 68...:cry:

Its beautiful man, just beautiful!

[TexasObserver]

78. Waller County, about 50 miles west of Houston, has a long, racist history on this issue.

Students and Prairie View A&M and have been fighting this problem for decades, as the old white guard in the community have consistently conspired to stop young black college students there from registering or voting.

If we had a real president and a real Justice Department, this could be ended by one aggressive US Attorney and a team of FBI agents.

[Glimmer of Hope]

80. This is so inspiring. Thanks for posting.

[cullen2382]

82. Good For Them!!

Maybe with a big national spotlight lighting up the voting problems there, they'll be more likely to start fixing it.

[usregimechange]

84. Kick!

[yellerpup]

85. Inspirational.

If I could sing, I would! Go Prairieview A & M! They aren't marching all that way to vote for John McCain! K&R!

[me b zola]

86. Maybe there is reason to be hopeful

As proud as we all are of those young adults demanding the right to vote, imagine how proud their parents must be! :grouphug:

[CaptJasHook]

87. Uber greatest

Go Democracy. I wish I was there. I must admit to developing a deep seated bigotry to all things Texan over the last 20 years. Maybe, just maybe, they will redeem themselves before I die.

[JimboDem]

88. Proud of those

young men and women. What a statement they made!
Thanks, Ingin. :kick:

[ekwhite]

89. I am so proud of these young people!

They care enough about voting to go en masse to make sure their vote counts. I wish the rest of America cared as much as they do. They aren't going to let Waller County disenfranchise them this time!

[Libby2]

90. What a sight for sore eyes!! You go kids!!

:cry:

[bermudat]

91. The 'audacity of hope' in action.

eom

[RoadRage]

92. This can't be right.. college kids don't actually vote, right?

WRONG! What a great site to see.. way to make a statement, peacefully. Many people are very proud of you, and what you are doing!

[Irishonly]

93. Wow

Brings back memories. Good for them and I hope it gets on MSM.

[BrklynLiberal]

94. Beware of awakening the sleeping giant. If people get angry enough there is no telling what they

might do!!!

This is just beautiful!!!

[NOLALady]

101. You reminded me of a LTTE I read

It was during the time of the build up to war.

It described how the avereage Americans listen to their leaders and trust them to do the right thing. They naively believed the lies that justified the invasion. But, once Americans awake and discover the deception, the mighty giant will roar.

Can you hear it?

Can. You. Hear Me(Americans). Now?

[BrklynLiberal]

102. Finally!! I am starting to hear the growling...growing to a mighty roar, I hope.

Interestingly enough, it was President Abraham Lincoln who said:

"It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time;
you can even fool some of the people all of the time;
but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time."

[peacetalksforall]

95. move . ment

[jwirr]

96. These kids are definitely the descendants of MLK, Thank God for

them.

[jwirr]

97. Someone get this to KO.

[lame54]

98. I duped this post...

I saw this on crooks and liars and wanted to share but did not see that it was alraedy posted(even though it was on the greatest threads- oops! :silly: )
anyway - this is a great story K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

104. Worth duping...

[gasperc]

99. now THAT's inspiring!!!!!

in freaking Texas no less, the awesomeness continues!!!

[NOLALady]

100. I'm crying again.

I guess we "baby boomers' didn't do too bad. We are witnessing the fruit of our efforts. These are our children and grandchildren.

This is a "really" proud moment in American history. I agree with Michelle 100%.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

105. There is definitely something happening!

[Mabus]

106. Wow!

I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. What a wonderful way to bring attention to the situation. It gives me hope for the future.

[electropop]

108. Good for them! They make me proud to be a Dem.

[cottonseed]

110. No more same old people doing the same old things.

Obama supporters are ready for the fight against the Republican smear machine.

[NoSheep]

112. Okay. Crying now at work. Tears of joy instead of rage! It's wonderful!!!

:kick:

[butterfly77]

113. Finally, the young people are waking up...

now time to IMPEACH!

[Uncle Joe]

116. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ingin.

[David Zephyr]

119. K&R. The people united will never be defeated.

How moving this story is.

[Vektor]

121. Crying as I type this.

What an absolutely inspiring and beautiful sight.

Bless each and every one of them.

I wish I were there with them...

[asdjrocky]

123. That just make me feel good.

You can count on one thing, there is one or a few Activists, Agitators or Organizers behind this. Man that is good to see.

[Democrafty]

124. That's amazing! n/t

[Grandrose]

125. Absolutely Amazing!!! K&R

Thank you for posting, this brought me out of the depression I had with this site and ready to participate in the discussion again!
Inspiration really do matter!:applause: :kick:

[sonias]

126. Video on YouTube

Now in the Political Video forum

Or directly on YouTube here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvDAiWWuvRg

:woohoo:


Sonia

[sonias]

127. More pictures

Flicker
Courtesy of Ken Basart.


Sonia

[Blue-Jay]

128. Love it!

[gademocrat7]

129. I applaud the students of Prairie View University.

Well done.

[GigiMommy]

130. Soul Stirring

I keep hearing it ALL AROUND that something is changing. You can SEE it. You can FEEL it.


:woohoo: 700!!!

[Danger Mouse]

131. This is just plain amazing!!!

A bigtime recommend and kick for this. :kick:
What a triumph for our Democracy.

[WildEyedLiberal]

133. But I thought "kids" just went to rallies and played Xbox and didn't vote?

That's a meme I've heard too often here on DU of late.

Let this beautiful picture shut that lie down once and for all. Those students are the embodiment of the American spirit.

[diva77]

134. too bad they're fighting for early voting instead of Hand Counted Paper Ballots

at the precinct level on election night. Just to mention a couple of reasons to nix early voting: it obscures the transparency of elections by doing away with voting at the precincts physically & it disenfranchises those who send in their ballots prior to candidates dropping out of the race...

if they want true democracy, they'll have to make plans to vote ON election day and they should fight for PAPER BALLOTS HAND COUNTED AT THE PRECINCTS AS SOON AS THE POLLS CLOSE

[Raster]

135. To all those that argued a General Discussion: Primaries threads should not be allowed

...on the GREATEST page, I hope you see the wisdom of NOT CENSORING what appears on the GREATEST page. If this does not bring tears to your eyes, you aren't alive.

This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! Bless their hearts!

[bobbolink]

136. There's hope for the youth of the US!

Thank you, students.... you have lifted my spirits!

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patroit:

[Historic NY]

137. Go, go, don't let them stop you......get your friends and relatives..

I am amazed there used to be the silent majority as Nixon called them, this is truely inspirational. Go Prairie View A&M Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bread_and_roses]

138. Is there a way to send this thread to the college in an email?

It would be wonderful for those students to know how moved people are by what they did. Especially if they didn't get much media in home town (which seems incredible, but that's what I gathered from the post titles....I am afraid I don't have time to read more than that of all the posts since I visited this thread yesterday/

[MBS]

140. WOW. This is what real citizenship looks like.

I hope this got a LOT of publicity in Texas, and elsewhere. Three cheers, a hundred cheers, for Prairie View A & M!

[Indenturedebtor]

143. YES YOU CAN

GO GO GO Don't let those bastards cage your votes! :bounce:

[AllyCat]

144. How can we tell these outstanding Americans how much this means

to all of us? There must be a way to tell them.

[jeff30997]

145. They have a web site:

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/1.asp

And there's an E-mail directory here:

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/225.asp

I have to go to bed,I hope it helps,.

[Barack_America]

147. Please rec the video as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=95715&mesg_id=95715