Campaiging for Obama

This is not exactly about the TEAM, but for a company called “The Theatre of the Emerging American Moment” I do think it speaks to the forces that motivate us.

David and me and Frankie at the offices

Just a note to say that Frank Boyd (performer) and I went down to South Philly yesterday to volunteer for the Obama campaign and it was a truly phenomenal experience.  The offices down there – and I’m sure across the country – need all the help we can give, financially and in terms of time.  This is a massive grassroots effort, and yesterday Frank and I (and Frank’s pal David!) got to do it all: we registered voters on South Street, we canvassed a neighborhood that can only properly be described as the projects and had extraordinary conversations with people, and we made phone calls to try to get more volunteers.  It was cool, and fun and definitely tangibly useful.

What I think is most fearsome to most volunteers, we really grafted to, which was talking frankly and positively and strongly to a VERY poor black neighborhood.  The necessity of as many people registering as possible before the deadline on October 6th, and then getting them to vote cannot be overstated.  I talked with a 19-year old girl yesterday who was not registered and had been taught all her life NOT to vote because the system was so corrupt anyway that “one African American doesn’t equal one vote” (her words).  Anyway, we talked for about 10 minutes, and at the end I got her to register.  And to pass a registration form on to her mom.  Who knows if she will vote, but I think it was a very important encounter.

Anyway, the time they can MOST use volunteers is weekend days, but also 4pm-9pm every day of the week.  There’s a MONSTER PUSH to register before October 6th, but then a monster push to get people persuaded and out.  Pennsylvania canNOT be lost.  It’s about $13 each way if you take NJ transit to PA public transport just down to Philly, and then I’m sure a cab to this office.  OR easy to split between a group a zipcar or car rental.  Less than 2 hours to get down there, so you really can go for a day.

I just thought it was amazing, so I urge you to consider doing.  I am definitely planning on going back down, so let me know when you might be able to go!

-Rachel

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