Charlotte, N.C. — “Tomorrow, we shall achieve the victory, that the kingdom of God may come on earth as it is in heaven, and all those who love the Lord and will vote for Obama, say Amen.”
“AAAMMMMEEENNN!”
When it comes to giving a rip-roaring pre-election invocation, you just can’t do better than Rev. Joseph Lowery. The 86-year-old civil-rights legend has come to the Ovens Auditorium here in Charlotte to work the crowd, perhaps 1,000-strong, into a prayerful mood before the last North Carolina appearance of Michelle Obama, wife of the man whose election will herald the coming of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. And as Lowery gets going, it’s clear he’s waited for this moment for a very long time.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ADVERTISEMENT
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“I remember, Lord, when Martin and others of us were in 1957, in New Orleans, we knew one day this day would come,” Lowery begins. “We didn’t know when or where, but we knew after Martin said, Lord, to this nation, ‘Give us the ballot.’”
“
Yes,” says the crowd.
“We didn’t know, Lord, that you were going to place so much significance on the great state of North Carolina — ”
“That’s right —”“but we know the people of North Carolina are able to bear the burden, and to meet the challenge, and to pass the test, and tomorrow the people of North Carolina will give climax to the campaign that seeks to lift America to another level — ”
“Uh-huh — ”
“to higher ground.”
“That’s right — ”“And so, Lord, we thank you that we have in this campaign and this election an opportunity in this election to move America from the dark valley of doubt to the mountaintop of hope.”
“Yes — ”
“To those days when black will not be asked to get back — ”
“That’s right — ”
“when brown can stick around — ”
“Uh-huh — ”“when yellow can be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, and when white will see the light.”
“Yes — ”When Lowery comes to his close, when he exhorts everyone who loves the Lord and will vote for Obama to say ‘Amen,’ there’s a huge roar of applause, perhaps because those present do not just plan to vote for Barack Obama — they’ve already voted for him. Judging by a show of hands a few moments later, the great majority of this nearly all-black crowd has already cast their ballots. Officials at the state Democratic party tell me that of the 430,498 North Carolinians who voted early in this race, 153,832 are African-Americans. That’s about 35 percent of the Democratic electorate — pretty much in line with earlier projections. And if, as has been the case in earlier primaries, about 90 percent voted for Obama, then North Carolina could be well on its way toward lifting America to higher ground.
But Mrs. Obama, the star attraction, is taking no chances. Walking onstage to chants of “Yes, we can!” and “Fired up — ready to go!” she quickly gets to the heart of her message: There are forces out there who are trying to take away everything Barack has worked for. They — she doesn’t mention anyone in particular but does refer to one “brand name politician” — are trying to win this election for themselves and thereby deny Obama the opportunity to move America to the mountaintop of hope. And they must be stopped.
“We’ve learned that we’re still living in a time and in a nation where the bar is set, right?” she tells the crowd.
“That’s right.”
“They tell you all you need to do is do these things and you’ll get to the bar — ”
“Uh-huh.”“So you go about the business of doing those things — ”
“Yes — ”
