Fannie Lou believed in democracy. When she first learned that Blacks could vote, she did not wait. She raised her hand to go down to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote. Though her first attempts were unsuccessful, the experience moved Fannie Lou to act. Despite the loss of her job as a sharecropper, multiple beatings, and threats to her life, Hamer became involved in voter registration drives and helped form the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. In 1964, Hamer took her case to the Convention. Speaking to the Credentials Committee, she famously challenged the Party to live up to its ideals, asking “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?” Hamer’s words and presence at the Convention led the DNC to change its rules in 1968 to require equal representation within state delegations to its national conventions.

Fannie Lou served as a Mississippi delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and continued to work to expand the rights of women and people of color until her death in 1977. She is buried in her hometown of Ruleville, Mississippi, where her tombstone, adopting her signature line, reads, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

The spirit that Fannie Lou ignited in our country decades ago continues to grow today. As millions of voters prepare to go to the polls in Virginia and New Jersey to cast their ballots, the Democratic National Committee stands strongly committed to meaningful and comprehensive election reform that will guarantee every eligible American - regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, disability, language, political party, gender, economic status or education - the constitutional right to equal participation in the political process.

Today, we remember a pioneer. A woman who dared to expand democracy for all people.

Read the DNC Resolution in Support of Accurate, Open and Transparent Elections in the United States of America.

“On this day in 1865, emancipation finally made it west, freeing the last slaves in Texas . So today, we commemorate the end of slavery in America and honor all those throughout our history who have fought for freedom, equality and justice by celebrating Juneteenth.

“As we take time to honor this occasion, we also stop to consider the remarkable path African Americans have forged, from slavery to the White House. With the first African American President of the United States , we usher in an era of endless opportunity. A new generation of Americans will be raised with no limits to their dreams – something their predecessors, who fought for equality as slaves in the fields of Texas and Freedom Riders in the streets of Alabama, may have never been able to imagine.

“But while we have come a long way, we still have further to go. We at the DNC join President Obama and the African American community in the fight to ensure equality in education, employment, and health care for all Americans.”

Full remarks below.

Watch the hearings here.

My name is Roy Gross. I’m a proud member of Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit, Michigan.

When I was a young man and wanted to start a family, I went to Detroit and landed a job as an automobile transporter. I delivered new cars from the assembly plants to dealerships around the country.

It was a great job, a Teamsters union job. You worked hard and it paid good wages, plus health care and pension. I worked there for 18 years. Working class families were doing well in Detroit until the Bush Administration took office, then everything changed.

Manufacturing jobs were exported by the hundreds of thousands and replaced with minimum-wage jobs in the so-called “New Economy.” I’m one of the lucky ones; I still have a job. But many of my friends and co-workers have lost their jobs and their homes.

If you ask me, this so-called “New Economy” is not working. We need a renewed economy. That’s why I’m seeing so many of my friends in Michigan - Democrats, Republicans and Independents - putting aside their differences to join this campaign.

Barack Obama will enact fair trade policies and work just as hard for us as we work for America. I will do everything I can, from now until Election Day, to put Michigan in the Obama column.

Monica Early, Ohio

I’m Monica Early from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Last January, someone sent me an e-mail containing so-called “facts” about Senator Obama. The e-mail painted a scary picture, questioning his faith and patriotism. I decided to do some fact-checking on my own and learned the truth.

What I discovered is that Barack Obama is a man of faith, a man of values and a man of action—someone who has shown his love for America by fighting for our people, helping communities left behind on Chicago’s South Side, fighting today for working families and the tax breaks we need to purchase a home, pay for college and save for retirement.

I am grateful for the e-mail that tried to scare me. It brought me here, an ordinary citizen, empowered by a leader who told me I could make a difference. Ohio is home to four of the fastest-dying cities in America. John McCain promises to continue the Bush economic policies that got us there.

Einstein said a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. If we elect John McCain, then, according to Einstein, we surely would be insane.

We need change. We need President Barack Obama!

Wes Moore

Hi, my name is Wes Moore. Twelve years ago, I took an oath on the Bible to defend, support and protect the United States of America. Today, I cannot fathom a more perfect expression of my allegiance as a soldier and citizen than giving my full support for Barack Obama to be my next commander-in-chief.

Before I deployed for Afghanistan, my grandparents gave me a Bible. Inside, they wrote four simple words: have faith, not fear. Those words protected and guided me and the soldiers under my command during some of the most trying days of my life.

I want a president who has a comprehensive strategy for Iraq and Afghanistan, and who can rally young people to serve, both in and out of uniform, and sees these as complementary, not contradictory goals. I want a president who believes in supporting our troops while we are fighting overseas, and supporting us with proper health care and education when we come home.

This election is not about history. Nor is it about making history. It’s about seizing history.

The charge my grandparents gave me—have faith, not fear—is the same challenge I issue tonight. A faith that this nation can rise to meet any challenge.

Tonight, Senator Obama is not asking you to have faith in him. He is asking you to have faith with him. Let’s make Barack Obama our next president.

The Honorable Janet Monacco, Florida

I’m Janet Monaco from Rockledge, Florida, by way of Long Island, New York. Fourteen years ago I moved to Florida to pursue my vision of the American dream. Within five years, I had bought a house and opened two pet stores. I was living well.

Then disaster struck: back-to-back hurricanes, and rising costs of food and gas. Today, I’m a struggling small-business owner who is diabetic and without health insurance. I work 70-hour weeks at the store and more hours in a part-time job and still can’t afford insurance.

I don’t tell this story to get sympathy. Everyone has challenges. But what gets me angry is that George Bush and John McCain have done nothing for people like me—and, in fact, have done plenty of things that make it even harder to get by. Huge tax breaks for those at the top. Looking out for the lobbyists and not the little guy. And billions spent in tax cuts for big corporations, but not enough for small businesses like mine.

I’m supporting Barack Obama, because we can’t afford four more years of the same. Yes, we can make a change!

Nathaniel Fick

Good afternoon. I’m Nathaniel Fick. My Marine platoon landed in Afghanistan on a moonlit night in 2001. A little more than a year later, we rolled into Iraq. I’ll never forget one dawn after a vicious gun battle. We’d just medevaced one of our wounded Marines, and I turned to see a small American flag hanging from a humvee’s antenna. For a second, it reminded me of the line we all know so well: “And our flag was still there.”

I registered as a Republican at 18 and voted for John McCain in 2000. It took seven years of hard experience to get me on this stage. But we cannot afford more of the same. That’s why we need Barack Obama and Joe Biden to lead us beyond the tired divisions of the past. They have the judgment to make the right decisions, leading our military, and uphold our highest ideals.

Everyone who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan has left something: a friend, a limb, a piece of their youth. In those palm groves and on those ridge lines, this is personal for us. I don’t want to retreat; I want to win.

The past seven years have been hard, often heartbreaking. Our flag, however, is still there. Let’s move forward in our quest to live up to the idea of America.

Teresa Brito-Asenap, New Mexico

Buenas noches, good evening.

I am Teresa Brito-Asenap from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first nine years of my life my grandparents worked with me to study and learn. They always talked about the importance of education. But it was not until third grade that I realized that mi abuelita, my grandmother, could neither read nor write.

But because of them, today I hold a doctorate in education. I owe them and my parents everything. Strong families raise strong students. All they need are world-class schools and dedicated teachers. Yet because of George W. Bush and John McCain, our schools don’t have the resources they need to meet the high standards of No Child Left Behind.

We don’t need four more years of the same. We need to turn the page and put our kids at the head of the class. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year in early education funding and give any student who wants to go to college a $4,000 tax credit. That’s the change we need and the change Barack Obama will bring as president of the United States.

Arriba y adelante – si se puede!

Pamela Cash-Roper, North Carolina

I’m Pam from Pittsboro, North Carolina. Wait till you hear what’s happening to me.

You might find my story familiar. Maybe it’s happening to you.

My husband, Keith, and I used to have a modest home we could afford, cars, money in a 401(k) plan, health insurance, and our health. We educated ourselves, got good jobs with benefits, worked night and day, raised four happy children, and saved some money.

It was the American dream. We did everything we thought you were supposed to do to live it. We really felt America was working for us.

Then, eight years ago, our American dream turned into a nightmare. Keith needed open-heart surgery. He lost his job and with it the family’s health insurance. I couldn’t afford to pay for health insurance on my nurse’s income, so we don’t have any.

Having no health insurance works – as long as you stay healthy.

Five years after Keith’s surgery, I had a quadruple bypass, and our medical expenses grew.

I’m a lifelong Republican who voted for Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Bush. But I can’t afford four more years like this.

That’s why I am supporting Barack Obama as my president.

Barney Smith, Indiana

My name is Barney Smith.

For most of my life, I was a proud Republican.

Growing up in the Indiana heartland, America was a place of boundless opportunity. You could go to the town factory and get a job the same day. You could start a family and buy a house with your salary.

My father started at Marion’s RCA plant in 1949, manufacturing picture tubes for TV sets.

I started in 1973. My wife worked in a high school cafeteria. Together, we made a living and raised a family.

Then, in 2004, the plant closed. Today, a foreign worker does my job.

After 31 years, I received 90 days’ severance pay and was unemployed.

Thirteen months later, I got a job at a distribution center.

Republicans talk about putting “country first,” but tell that to Marion, Indiana. They sent my job overseas.

America can’t afford more of the same. We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.

I’m going to put country first by voting Barack Obama for president.

The heartland needs change. And with Obama, we’re going to get it.

Proud of Barack Obama, proud of the party that nominated him and proud of the America that will elect him.

On this day, exactly 45 years ago, my father stood on the National Mall in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed, “I have a dream! ... That one day, this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”

We’re all children of the dream, and he is in all our hearts and minds. But not only that, he is in the hopes and dreams, the competence and courage, the rightness and readiness of Barack Obama.

But my father would be quick to remind us that realizing his dream is not Barack Obama’s job alone. America needs more than a great president to realize my father’s dream. What America needs is a great America.

Let me paraphrase my father: The ultimate measure of a nation is not where it stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where it stands in times of challenge and controversy.

On some questions, cowardice asks, is a position safe? Expediency asks, is a position politic? Vanity asks, is a position popular? But, that something deep inside us called conscience asks, is a position right?

Sometimes we must take positions that are neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; we must take them because they are right!

If we are to be a great democracy, we must all take an active role in our democracy. We must do democracy. That goes far beyond simply casting your vote. We must all actively champion the causes that ensure the common good.

In five short years, when we reflect upon the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, let us look back and celebrate our audacity to redress poverty, commemorate the hope and faith that led us to take charge of our lives and communities, and venerate our dream of life, liberty and happiness, through our renewed commitment to prevent unjust wars from ever being waged.

Then let us look forward to the next 50 years as we stand together, because our potential as a people is limitless. Work together, because our ability to do good in the world is boundless. And live together, because of our values of fairness, full justice, opportunity and the majesty of the dream.

On this, the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, and in honor of the legacies of my father and of Bobby Kennedy, let us give our nation a leader who has heard this clarion call and will help us achieve the change we still need: Barack Obama.

Forty-five years ago today, my father delivered his “I have a dream” speech. Tonight, we witness in part what has become of his dream, the acceptance of a Democratic presidential nominee, decided not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.

This is one of our nation’s greatest defining moments. Forty-five years later, I am proud to introduce another Martin Luther King, the first-born son of our parents Martin and Coretta King, born into the generation that would realize the dream and who leads the organization Realizing the Dream Inc., through which he addresses pressing issues confronting our nation and world, such as health care, education, values, poverty and war. He is a human rights activist, a man on the move.

Please welcome the son of the dream and my dear brother, Martin Luther King III.

He recalled that, “when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence,” they issued a call for justice. And they founded our democracy on a mandate for freedom, equality and human dignity.

I was there that day when Dr. King delivered his historic speech before an audience of more than 250,000. I am the last remaining speaker from the March on Washington, and I was there when Dr. King urged this nation to lay down the burden of discrimination and segregation and move toward the creation of a more perfect union.

On that day, his words and his example inspired an entire generation of the young and old, the rich and poor – people of all faiths, races, cultures and backgrounds – to believe that we had the power, we had the ability, and we had the capacity to make that dream a reality.

Tonight, we have gathered here in this magnificent stadium in Denver because we still have a dream. As a participant in the civil rights movement, I can tell you the road to victory will not be easy. Some of us were beaten, arrested, taken to jail, and some of us were even killed trying to register to vote.

But with the nomination of Senator Barack Obama tonight, the man who will lead the Democratic Party in its march toward the White House, we are making a major down payment on the fulfillment of that dream. We prove that a dream still burns in the hearts of every American, that this dream was too right, too necessary, too noble to ever die.

But this night is not an ending. It is not even a beginning. It is the continuation of a struggle that began centuries ago in Lexington and Concord, in Gettysburg and Appomattox, in Farmville, Virginia, and Topeka, Kansas, in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and Selma, Alabama.

Democracy is not a state. It is an act. It is a series of actions we must take to build what Martin Luther King Jr. called the beloved community – a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and the worth of every human being.

We’ve come a long way, but we still have a distance to go. We’ve come a long way, but we must march again. On November 4th, we must march in every state, in every city, in every village, in every hamlet; we must march to the ballot box. We must march like we have never marched before to elect the next President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama.

For those of us who stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, or who in the years that followed may have lost hope, this moment is a testament to the power and vision of Martin Luther King Jr. It is a testament to the ability of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. It is a testament to the promise of America.

Tonight, we have put together a tribute to the man and his message. Let us take a moment to reflect on the legacy and the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. on this 45th anniversary of the historic march on Washington.

As DNC vice-chair of voter registration and participation, I am honored and humbled to be here sharing this historic moment with you, on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's “I Have a Dream” speech, as we nominate the next President of the United States, Barack Obama.

As I look around this arena, I am awed by the incredible diversity of the Democratic Party.

This stadium looks like America.

What impresses me most is that we have all come together, united in our efforts to help Barack Obama and Joe Biden win the White House.

Though this is a celebration of our party and our nominee, let's not forget that there are still millions more that must be registered to vote, thousands of doors to knock on, countless rumors to counter, and most importantly, a country to reclaim.

But our hard work will be rewarded.

When Barack Obama is president and Democrats strengthen our majorities all across the country, we will have three things that we have sorely needed after the past eight miserable years: change, hope, and a great Democrat in the White House.

As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I was overjoyed to be a part of history at the beginning of the 110th Congress with Stephanie. We became two of the five CBC members who would chair full committees in the House of Representatives.

Her life and legacy is full of history making—as the first black woman to become a member of Congress in Ohio and the many “firsts” she accomplished as a successful attorney in the state. One thing is clear: to be a first in so many areas, to be such a trailblazer in public service you have to be strong. You have to be committed to making a difference in the lives of others.

The role of a first is not to walk through a door and then close only to prevent future entry by others. The role of a first is to walk through that door of opportunity, open new doors, and create new opportunities for others. And so, my challenge to all of us is: to avoid the legacy of the one and only.

We don’t need to create any more opportunities that die with an individual. We need more legacies like Stephanie’s—the kind of legacy that lives on. Her legacy demands that we do what Gandhi once said—to “be the change you want to see in the world.” This is the change we see in Barack Obama. So, let’s continue to trail blaze, to take the road less traveled, so that someone else can walk down that road. Then our living will not be in vain.

We’re going to see a video tribute to other great Democrats who passed away over the last four years.

Now let us observe a moment of silence to honor Stephanie’s memory.

After Senator Obama prevailed, the Congressional Black Caucus met with Senator Obama, and Stephanie Tubbs Jones led us in standing rock-solid in support of him as our candidate for president. She knew the importance of making sure that every vote counts and every vote is counted.

After the 2004 election when so many votes went uncounted in Ohio, Stephanie Tubbs Jones met with me and other House members in Columbus, Ohio to hear the testimony of hundreds of Ohioans angry at the way their secretary of state had misconducted the presidential election. She returned to Washington with one vow: “Never again.” Never again would we see justice left undone. Never again will votes go uncounted. Never again will the voice of the people be ignored.

Before leaving this convention, with Senator Obama nominated as our candidate, I ask that we honor the memory of Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and speak with one voice, as she would. “Never again. Never again. Never again.”

Stephanie Tubbs Jones never stopped believing in the power of the American dream because she was proof of it. Only in America could a young black woman from Cleveland, the daughter of an airport skycap and a cook, work her way through college and law school to achieve a lifetime of firsts in local government and Congress.

She shattered myths and showed us that an America that provided opportunity for all–that did not succumb to the prejudices based on race, religion, color or class or sex–was not just possible, but necessary for our survival. If she were with us today, she would ask that we come together to dare, like Sen. Barack Obama does, to dream of a more perfect union, one that is a better place for working families.

A dream that has been derailed too often in eight years by stifling deficits, an immoral war in Iraq and a tax system that rewards the rich and few. A dream that Sen. John McCain wants to further tarnish by extending President Bush’s failed economic policies with even more costly and regressive tax cuts that once again leave behind over 100 million households. We cannot let that pass.

We must renew the promise of a land that our Stephanie loved so much. We must change our national priorities, restore fairness and reinvest in the health and education of our country's true strength: its people. We must see to it that Barack Obama and Joe Biden and a strong Democratic Congress are elected this November. We must do it for Stephanie, we must do it for our great country!

We honor the lives of our sisters, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald and Congresswoman Julia Carson. Today, we celebrate the life, leadership and legacy of our sister, friend and colleague: Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Chairwoman of the House Ethics Committee.

Congresswoman Tubbs Jones was a trailblazer: the first African-American and the first female to serve as Cuyahoga County prosecutor. The first African-American woman to sit on the Ohio Common Pleas Bench. The first African-American woman from Ohio elected to the United States House of Representatives. The first African-American woman appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee.

She was also my friend. I will always cherish her smile and treasure her faithful friendship. We were inspired by her enthusiasm, energy, and passion. The mark she left on Ohio, Congress, America and the countless lives she touched is priceless. Let us continue the work she started.

Stephanie recognized that, in this election, we stand at a crossroads of hope and change. She also recognized that, this November, only one candidate, Barack Obama, can deliver the change we so badly need. So let us continue the journey to an America bursting with equality, opportunity and prosperity for all.

To her son Mervyn Jones II, her sister Barbara, her family, friends and staff and all others who knew her, I pray your sadness is tempered by memories you hold in your heart. May you find comfort and strength in knowing she is with us always. Her brilliant light continues to shine.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones will forever be in our hearts.

On the day President Johnson submitted the Voting Rights Act to Congress, he said, “At times, history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom.”

So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was at Appomattox. So it was in Selma, Alabama. Tonight, I would like to add: and so it shall be in Denver, Colorado, with the nomination of Barack Obama to be President of the United States.

What a remarkable thing it is that the man who came to this convention four years ago as the keynote speaker is returning this year as our party’s nominee. But for those of us who’ve known Barack over his decade in public office in Illinois the yearning for change, the hunger for unity that he’s tapped into across the country has a familiar ring.

I remember when Barack first decided to run for the United States Senate. He’d had a remarkable career in the state Senate, reaching across the aisle to put a tax cut into the pockets of working families, to expand health care for more children and parents and to take on the lobbyists who had so much influence in Springfield.

But despite this record, most in Springfield didn’t take his candidacy all that seriously. The party establishment was skeptical of this young leader from the South Side. They didn’t know what to make of a man like Barack, with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a funny name that few could pronounce. They didn’t see how this former community organizer could possibly defeat candidates with more money, more name recognition and more backing from “all the right people.”

But here’s the thing: that race wasn’t going to be decided in the halls of power in Springfield or the high rises on the lakefront. It was not going to be decided by the power brokers or opinion shapers. It was going to be decided by the people of Illinois. Illinois is America. It’s great cities and small towns, it’s old factories and new industries, it’s timeless Midwestern values of faith, family and hard work. And it’s black and white and Latino all living together, as one Illinois family, as one America. And the people of Illinois were hungry for change. From the old factory towns of our industrial north to the farms of our agrarian south, families had been struggling to meet the challenges of our global economy. And more often than not, they’d been harmed, rather than helped, by economic policies that failed to them get ahead and reach for their dreams.

But what they heard from Barack as he traveled across the state was a message of hope. Whether he was upstate or downstate; whether he was talking with folks who’d been laid off and seen their jobs shipped overseas or families struggling to keep up with rising costs; whether he was talking with recent immigrants who wanted to know that America had a place for them too, or African Americans who were falling further and further behind, Barack spoke of the same powerful idea. The idea that’s at the heart of who Barack is. The idea that’s at the heart of who we are as Americans. And the idea that’s at the heart of this campaign. That we all have a stake in each other; that the well-being of the “we” depends on the well-being of the “he” and “she”; and that in this country we rise and fall together as one people, as one nation.

And what I saw in that campaign is what I’m seeing today: ordinary men and women of all races, all religions, all walks of life coming together to demand a government in Washington that’s as honest and decent, as purposeful and responsible as the American people.

Fellow Democrats, this is an historic moment. I know. I grew up with the lessons of another generation, my father’s generation. I know his stories of struggle and sacrifice, of fear and division. I know America is still a place where dreams are too often deferred and opportunities too often denied.

But here’s what I also know. I know that while America may not be perfect, our union can always be perfected. I know what we can achieve when good people with strong convictions come together around a common purpose. And I know what a great leader can do to help us find common ground. America, we need such a leader today, a leader who can heal the wounds of the last eight years, a leader who knows that what unites us is greater than what divides us and that America is at its strongest when hard work is rewarded and all of our dreams are within reach.

I know Barack Obama. I’ve seen his leadership at work. I’ve seen the difference he’s made in the lives of people across Illinois. And that is why I know that for the sake of our children, our families, and the future we hold in common, he is the leader America needs right now. Forty-five years to the day after a young preacher called out, “Let freedom ring,” let history show in this fourth week of August in this Mile-High City, freedom in America has never rung from a higher mountaintop than it does here today.

John McCain receives boisterous, sustained standing ovations from Houston oil executives who then proceed to pump nearly $2 million in cash to his campaign.

Working class voters are supporting Senator Barack Obama by a two-to-one margin over John McCain.

Washington Post:

Obama’s advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers — a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November — Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate.