The portrait of Melanie which we chose for the Project stands in stark contrast to the ebullient energy of many of the others included in the collection.  This image, more than any other, captured an air of hope and quiet conviction, even in the face of challenges that lay ahead.

When we asked our portrait subjects to submit their “Stories of Change” for the Project, Melanie responded immediately with a personal account that was at once heart breaking and resolutely hopeful.  Below is a re-posting her submission, in it’s entirety.

.

.

“Freedom had been hunted round the globe;
Reason was considered as rebellion;
And the slavery of Fear had made men afraid to Think.
But such is the irresistible nature of Truth,
That all it asks - and all it wants
Is the Liberty of appearing.”

Tom Paine, American Revolutionary Patriot;
from Rights of Man, 1792.

I am a 40-year-old veteran of decades of Republican ideological hegemony in our nation. The tired old dogma of trickle-down economics (aka “Tax and Steal”) and imperial military bombast which emanates from today’s Washington as unchallenged gospel has pitted “red” against “blue”, white against black, green (☼) against Green ($), and finally led us to the absurdity of orange alerts to “scare the hell out of the American people”, an old tactic dredged up from the depths of the Cold War. The culmination of this dangerous, narrow ideology has driven most Americans into the red and turned our bountiful planet ashen grey as an unprecedented climate crisis driven by insatiable greed and corruption threatens to snuff out our very existence as a civilized species. The pall of sullenness and despair that has smothered America in these years, snuffing out hopes and dreams for a better future, has been painful to witness and challenging to survive

Hope has been in scarce supply in Republican America. But that would begin to change for me several years ago, when my Grandpa Joe (now passed away) introduced me to the writings of the great American Patriot Tom Paine. His clarion call to the world during the darkest days of the American Revolution would shake the foundations of monarchy around the globe, and bring a people together from all walks of life to rise up against the most powerful dynasty in modern history, the omnipotent British Empire. Reading Paine’s fiery words was like feasting on a delicious banquet after decades of wrenching hunger. This was HOPE for the future, a vision moved forward by the shot heard ’round the world from Jefferson’s mighty pen, that “all men are created equal.

That hope would serve me well in the next few years as I received an unexpected diagnosis of late-stage breast cancer at age 37, due to inadequate health insurance with exorbitant fees that kept me out of our medical system. The dreaded disease would prove to be a blessing in disguise, as the grueling pursuit of operating and growing a small business would soon give way to a more relaxed pace, with more time to read and reflect. As I moved from Tom Paine to Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King in my quest for a deeper understanding of our nation’s history, it soon became clear that great men (and women) do exist, and that they achieve greatness through the power of their ideas.

When I read my first book of speeches by Abraham Lincoln, his simple and brilliant analysis of the true vision of our founding fathers struck me as if I had been born again. Lincoln’s humble beginnings never squelched his dream of acquiring a world-class education, which he achieved on his own by borrowing neighbors’ books and reading them voraciously during breaks working the fields, or by the firelight of his family’s cabin. As President, he was ridiculed in the palaces and parlors of Europe and New York, even called “the original gorilla” and worse; but he never let up in his quest for the more perfect Union that our founders envisioned. His words ring as true today as then: “I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence… which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance.”

Armed with these powerful ideas, I joined my community to help organize a grassroots campaign to recall a lawbreaking Mayor. More than once, I took the podium at City Hall to launch vivid speeches in defense of our Constitution and the rule of law, with help from such giants as Lincoln and Paine. We were an unusual bunch, of all political stripes and ideas, but we came together for that brief shining moment and orchestrated a successful recall movement against entrenched corruption at the local level that made international news. Unfortunately, we became the victims of our own success and soon splintered to the four winds in the partisan political faction that Washington had warned could threaten the very existence of our nation

This disappointment did not last long, though, as the winds of Change blew down toward St. Louis in 2007. On that bitter cold day of February 10, I joined a buoyant group from East St. Louis on a bus journey to Springfield, Illinois to witness our true Son of Lincoln take the stage of history on the steps of the Old State Capitol. As we marched into the throng, I was amazed and overjoyed by the massive crowd of all ages, races and backgrounds waiting with baited breath for history to be made. While there was ice in our hair, we were warmed by the hope in our hearts and joy in our souls as we contemplated the possibility of achieving an honest government of the People, by the People and for the People, the evolution of two centuries of struggle by Americans of all colors and creeds. We would no longer be divided by fear and hate, but united in hope

The day after returning from Springfield, I joined Obama for America online and in August of 2007 attended Camp Obama, the incredible grassroots training program set up by the campaign. This enabled me to initiate North County for Obama, a St. Louis Obama group that helped deliver 73% of the primary vote in our district for Barack Obama. We have been meeting regularly since August of 2007, volunteering at huge Obama rallies, organizing campaigns at local events, postcard parties, Barack-B-Ques, voter registration drives, and general community outreach. The incredible people I have met throughout this movement have sustained and nurtured my energy and optimism for the future of our country.

I was forced to pull back from the campaign temporarily in August as I returned to chemotherapy, but am doing very well and have my train tickets to the inauguration in hand (I hope to meet Joe on the Amtrak!). The happiest moment in my life will be when I stand with my wonderful mother, a hard-working Kansas City “Obama Mama”, on the steps of the Capitol on January 20 to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. This will represent the fulfillment of Tom Paine’s vision: “We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men.” We’re counting on you Barack – Yes, We Can!

Melanie Shouse
Overland (St. Louis), MO

This week Melanie’s story strengthened the resolve of the president, himself, when Obama spoke of her battle with cancer and the health insurance coverage that denied her treatment.  “How can I say to her … ‘We’re giving up … This is too hard’?”

Melanie Shouse’s greatest wish was to see healthcare reform enacted in her lifetime.  Now, it is our responsibility to her, and those who share her struggle, to continue this fight and bring about the changes that we campaigned and voted for in 2008.

To get involved in the fight for healthcare reform go to:

http://pol.moveon.org/stand

http://my.barackobama.com/page/speakout/finishthejob

http://healthcareforamericanow.org

http://www.truemajority.org

We Are the Ones we’ve been waiting for!

]]> http://wearetheonesproject.com/blog/portrait-of-a-fight-unfinished/feed http://wearetheonesproject.com/blog/inauguration http://wearetheonesproject.com/blog/inauguration#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:00:27 +0000 Rachel http://wearetheonesproject.com/?p=1212 Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried several times to sit down and record our inauguration experience. Upon returning from DC, Rob and I were contentedly exhausted from the festivities and still had a week’s worth of “day jobs” to catch up on, so the blog update just had to wait. We were getting daily emails from folks wanting to know how the Inaugural Ball had gone, and every time I caught a glimpse of a newspaper headline or heard anyone on NPR refer to “President Obama” I got a little thrill and looked forward to the chance to sit down and write.

But in the weeks that followed, the freelance work I was doing abruptly dropped off, Obama’s economic stimulus package was being dismembered in congress, and friends left and right were being laid off. It suddenly became very difficult to find that “place” I was in only weeks before. It seemed impossible to recapture the emotion that Rob and I experienced while watching the swearing in ceremony, or the elation we felt seeing our work at a fancy Inaugural Ball, huge on a 15-foot tall screen.

I strained to remember how we had comically scrambled at the last minute to find formalwear for a gala-filled weekend, and the hours spent on technical problems with the Project video that nearly derailed our part in the events. I had already forgotten how Tamala, the organizer of the People’s Inaugural Ball had been so enthusiastic about including our Project in the event, and how Sharese, the curator of the Ball’s video instillation, was so encouraging and supportive of our work. After the Ball, Rob and I had taken a walk down the Mall at 3am, the morning before it was to be transformed into a sea of people to witness the historic inaugural ceremony. It amazes me how quickly even life’s most poignant moments can begin to fade from memory.

In the last few weeks I’ve seen how rapidly today’s misfortune can unseat yesterday’s joy, how new demands force us to turn all too quickly from our own successes. But in this way I’ve come to realize the true value of what Rob and I attempted with this Project. We all need to be reminded, all the time, of how powerful our small victories are and how important it is to hold on to the big ones. Times are really hard for a lot of us right now. But remembering can give us strength - we can fortify our sense of hope by looking back, and remembering how much we have accomplished.

We sat in the darkened theater of the Washington DC Historical Society with our video playing within a continuous loop, as men and women, elegantly dressed in tuxes and ball gowns, came to watch. And as I watched, I remembered meeting each of those people Rob photographed, and how grateful I was to every one of them for reminding me that I was not alone. I am so glad we were there to document the energy and excitement of a moment when so many of us decided to work for change in our country. And I’m doubly glad to have those memories and images from which to draw strength now, with so much work ahead.

We Are The Ones we’ve been waiting for!

Since Election Day, Rob and I have been hard at work balancing our commitment to the Project and returning to everyday life and our day jobs. Rob has been splitting his time between his work on commercial photo sets and working from home retouching and editing the photos from the We Are the Ones Project. This retouching work is Rob’s least favorite part of the process, and I think the only thing that’s kept him going through the long hours in a dark room staring at the computer screen is the hopeful faces of the grassroots movement staring back!

Meanwhile I started a new freelance job working for a milliner making hats for Broadway shows. It’s kind of a random transition from producing a political photo essay, but it’s fun and creative work and I’m really enjoying it! I’ve filled my free time researching potential publishers for our book and contacting inaugural ball committees to see where the We Are the Ones Project might be featured during the festivities later this month.

Then of course there were the holidays, which made getting work done, of any kind, difficult. And with the economy being such as it is, and Rob and I trying to rebound financially from going out on a limb with this Project, we knew it wouldn’t be a lavish year for gift giving. But our “Recession Christmas” turned out to be a huge success, with everyone giving hand made, thrift store, and “free-cycled” presents. With a little creativity and the company of good friends and family we were reminded just how much we have to be grateful for this year.

Now, in the new year, it’s back to work! And I am excited to report that it looks like the We Are the Ones Project will be featured at at least one inaugural ball in Washington DC! All the details are still being worked out, but I will be posting updates on the website as we know them. We are also preparing mockup copies of the We Are the Ones book to show to publishers, and we’re putting the finishing touches on a one of a kind special edition copy of the work to be given to Obama as an inaugural gift.

There’s still a lot of work to be done and we haven’t given up on eventually showcasing the work in a fine art gallery, but we’ve found it necessary to prioritize the various aspects of the Project into manageable pieces… after all we’re only 2 people! But we never could have gotten this far alone; and I’d just like to thank everyone who participated in the Project and so many of you for your continued support and encouragement. Rob and I are so proud of the work that we’ve all accomplished together. We look forward to reaping the rewards of that hard work when we see Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and in the years to come as we all continue the fight to realize the full potential of our communities and our country.

Peace, Hope and Love in 2009!

~Rachel

For the record, we’re still working toward a gallery show of the work, but the earliest this would possibly happen (and not seeming so far away now) would be in January as an inauguration celebration!

So last week, with Rob jumping right back into work on a photo shoot in the city, and me without a job or an event to plan, I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. I spent a few days catching up on our travel blog and writing to the subjects of portraits we thought we might want to use in the book to ask them to submit to us their Stories of Change. But once those tasks were done I found myself restless and disappointed our work hadn’t culminated in some pre-election grandeur.

I spent a day or two in this state, until I woke up with the idea to make a video of our work set to Will.i.am’s song by the same name as our Project. In a day, I scrambled to learn the iMovie software and contacted Will’s management to ask for permission to use the song. The result, after 9 hours of editing 100 of our favorite portraits from the Project to 3 min of music, is something Rob and I are extremely proud of and validated by.

The song “We Are The Ones” originated as a video of celebrities sharing their reasons for endorsing Barack Obama. The video I posted on YouTube still contains the voiceovers of the prominent Obama supporters, but set against images of ordinary Americans, the juxtaposition serves as reminder that we are all fighting for common goals and a shared vision for our country when we endorse (and cast our votes for) Barack Obama.

Within a couple of days the video had been seen by over 1000 people! And spurred on by my plea for Project participants to submit their stories before their impressions were altered by the election results, the Stories of Change also began to roll in. Finally feeling like the Project was on stable footing, Saturday before the election I put it briefly out of my mind to go to a local phone bank and make get-out-the-vote calls to registered democrats. It was so comforting to be surrounded, once again, by grassroots volunteers, and this time, to participate directly in a way I wasn’t able to while we were on the road.

Election day Rob and I went to our Park Slope polling place and waited about an hour in line before we could vote. We were both impressed with the turnout, the long lines seeming to indicate that even our liberal neighborhood didn’t anticipate such high volume. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading the dozens of new Stories of Change submitted at the 11th hour, while Rob worked on finally writing his own. Reading about the personal experiences of these people we’d photographed across the country, reading about their reasons and inspiration for becoming involved in the Obama campaign, was the perfect way to spend election day!

Our cable was out the night of the election and we found ourselves sitting in our neighborhood diner surrounded by our neighbors, strangers and friends. And as the election results began to filter in, state by state, I got a little choked up thinking about specific people we’d met across the country and their dedication to this historic campaign. When North Carolina was called for Obama I broke into audible sobs, and didn’t really recover until the next morning!

Rob and I are so grateful to have been a part of such an incredible movement. While there is still an overwhelming amount of work to be done for the Project, and while we are just beginning the job of reclaiming our democracy and rebuilding this country as so many of us have imagined it, we can all take heart in the fact that together we’ve accomplished an incredible feat. We truly Are the Ones we’ve been waiting for.

If you’re looking for some inspirational words to accompany the photos today, I would point you to the Stories of Change that have been pouring in from many of the folks we photographed across the country.

We ARE the ones

Tracey, a work from home mom, had planned a Women for Obama afternoon postcard writing party. She had been inspired to hold a similar event during the primaries, after hearing about Post Cards for Votes, a grassroots campaign handwriting postcards to undecided women in swing states, urging them to vote for Obama. Her primary party had been a small gathering of friends and they had written almost 100 postcards together. But in the spirit of grassroots outreach Tracy had posted this most recent event on Obama’s website, and was expecting several of her friends, as well as a few neighbors she didn’t know, to attend.

When we pulled into the driveway of the suburban village of West Friendship (!), I spotted a hand drawn sign taped to the gate next to the garage: “Vote for Obama.” Tracey greeted us at the door and explained that her 7 year old daughter, Hanna, who had made the sign, was very disappointed she wouldn’t be excused from school to attend the Obama party. We unloaded our equipment and set up in the driveway beside a large back yard, where a couple of tables had been arranged, well stocked with pens, stacks of blank American flag postcards and snacks.

As the guests began to arrive, old friends and new acquaintances quickly got down to work penning personal appeals, each sighting her own experiences and reasons for endorsing Barack Obama. Every once in a while someone would ask what her neighbor had been writing, and a message would be read aloud. An attorney wrote about her concern for the rights of women and our personal freedoms with the likely appointment of several Supreme Court Justices by the next president. A pediatric cancer surviver wrote about the relationship between health care in our country and families’ financial stability. And a high school teacher mentioned her inability to afford a McCain tax of her employee health benefits.

Our photo shoot provided welcome relief to those with cramping hands, and as Rob spent time taking each woman’s portrait I had a chance to write a few post cards myself! By the time everyone had been photographed and many of the women were excusing themselves to go pick up their children from school, the stacks of handwritten postcards were piled high. Many of us took more blank postcards home to continue writing, and Tracey told me later that her party produced over 1000 cards to add to the cause!

As we broke down our set for the last time, it was a little surreal to think about our trip coming to an end, and Rob and I both got a little choked up! Tracey sent us off with left over coffee cake and told us how excited she was to have made so many new friends that day. We’ve seen it again and again, since we began the We Are the Ones Project: people who are willing to open their homes and their hearts to a unified cause are creating new and proactive communities. It has been a gift to watch, first hand, Obama’s vision for our country begin to take shape. It’s been a truly amazing experience and we are forever changed by it.

The next morning we set off for Gulf, North Carolina, just south of Chapel Hill, for a Obama-Que fundraiser. We arrived at Dell’s double wide trailer home to find the place bustling with preparations. Rob and I made ourselves at home, setting up the backdrop and photo equipment beside the picnic tables in the front yard. There was a full menu of Southern favorites for sale, as well as (to my surprise and delight) homemade veggie burgers!

And as the guests began to arrive we were further surprised and delighted by the mix of black and white, academics and blue collar workers, artists and activists who make up perhaps the most tight knit community of diversity and activism we’ve seen anywhere in the country. And these people were as fired up and ready to go for their local democratic candidates as they were for Obama. Many of them told us about the community’s success in recent elections running out corrupt and ineffective politicians. They spoke with pride about successful efforts opposing plans for a four lane highway through their county and other general sprawl. These folks were knowledgeable, committed and involved so far beyond my expectations that I began to wonder if the passion of this small community in the middle of North Carolina couldn’t turn the whole state blue.

Last week a friend forwarded me an anonymous letter entitled Dear Red States, which was posted on Craigslist last year, and now seems to be making the pre-election rounds once again. As amusing and true as this Dear John style letter is at first glance, after meeting the people at Del’s Obama-Que, I couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed of how much I have identified with this flippant and dismissive message over the past four years.

Watching the divisive and ugly tactics in this election season, it seems to me (and I am certainly not the first to point out) that we are not as divided as some would have us think.  And if those of us in Blue States are ready to secede, or move to Canada if things don’t turn out the way we hope, we neglect our responsibility to stand in solidarity with those in pockets of hope and liberal activism in Red States.  And beyond responsibility, we are missing an opportunity, because nothing is more inspiring than the stalwart convictions of a pocket of Blue within a sea of Red.

So it was with this hopeful outlook that we headed to Decatur, Georgia, the following day to attend a phone bank and gathering to watch the vice presidential debate. I’d spoken with Bob, one of the organizers of the event, to find out what time we could arrive to set up. He told me that someone would be at the community auditorium at least a half hour before the event was scheduled to begin, but that we should still have plenty of time to settle in as “this is the South, people move a little slower here,” and usually arrive late. This condition must be contagious because, although we are given to slow departures on driving days, we left Memphis far later than we’d planed, and put in a full day of anxious driving to arrive just at the appointed start time of the event. Apparently someone forgot to tell those southerners in attendance that there is a precedent for fashionable lateness, because when we pulled up in front of the community center it was already buzzing with activity.

Needless to say we were a little stressed, rushing to set up amidst what turned out to be the monthly meeting of the Dekalb County Democrats. But by the time the minutes were read, all motions passed to contribute finances to local campaign races, and the meeting was adjourned, we were ready to begin. I scouted the packed auditorium for interesting and energetic looking folks as the crowd settled into dozens of hushed cell phone conversations by people who were determined to get through their phone bank lists before the debates began. And if the alternately rapt and riotous viewing of the debate is any indication, there’s plenty of dedication and enthusiasm to carry this pocket of the deep south at least.

When the broadcast ended I was relieved (Palin’s voice and “folksy” responses at auditorium volume were more than I could stand!) but we were suddenly faced with a line of people who wanted to have their portraits taken. As Rob scrambled to photograph these people I approached Danny, who I’d spotted earlier while scouting subjects having noted his “Veterans for Obama” button, and who was now sorting through the garbage looking for recyclables. “Democrats should know better,” he told me shaking his head. Just as I’d convinced Danny to be the last photographic subject of the evening, the security guard announced that he needed to lock up. We begged for a few more minutes and were answered with a casual nod. There was that laid back southern attitude we’d been expecting!

We broke down the set and loaded up the car in record time only to finally catch our breath and realize we had not ever gotten confirmation on housing for the night! I was completely devastated to have broken our streak once I realized we’d have to spend our first night in two months in a hotel. But as we turned in at the Motel 6 at 1AM I had to remind myself that “it is what it is.” And what it is isn’t our hotel record. We’d managed to find the exception to the rule in Georgia, and even here we just might “win this thing!”

This turned out to be much more difficult than either of us had imagined. Promoting ourselves to the main steam media was going to pose a particular challenge, as it was pointed out to us that all Obama related news stories have to be balanced by equal coverage for McCain. So although we did continue to work on the media kit, we decided to also tackle PR grassroots style… We made a general appeal to everyone we’ve met along the way, challenging them to share the Project with their friends and write about it in their blogs.

By the time we were leaving Hot Springs I was beginning to feel a cold coming on, and when we arrived at our friend Carol’s Home in Memphis it was clear that some convalescing would soon be in order. But fist I had to power through our photo shoot at a Presidential Debate Party that night. This party was different from all the other events we’ve attended for the project, because it was not strictly an Obama event. Joelle and Mike were hosting the watch party at their home in South Bluffs, a gated community in downtown Memphis, and had invited friends of Democrat as well as Republican persuasion to engage in a civil viewing of, and conversation about the broadcast. I don’t think I hid my surprise very well when Joelle told me that she and Mike were actually still undecided as to how they would be voting.

But I needn’t have worried about there being enough democrats at the event, because soon the second story deck, where we were set up, was flooded with avid Obama supporters. At one point a Republican made his way up and reported of the packed living room down stairs, “It’s like a funeral down there.” He went on to explain that, “this is the South, nobody wants to offend anyone!”

So the discussion portion of the evening wasn’t quite as spirited as she has expected, but after the debate Joelle informed me that she was ready to have her picture taken as our newest Obama supporter. She told me she was 95% on board with Obama before, but that that night’s debate had pushed her over the edge.

The next morning I was completely sick, but on the bright side the results of our grassroots media experiment were beginning pour in, to the complete astonishment of both Rob and me. With prominent entries in several blogs that day, traffic to the site soon spiked by almost 2000%!

It took me a couple days of rest, being well looked after by Rob and Carol, but I was soon on the mend.  And none too soon, because Carol was having some extensive construction done to her kitchen. I had hoped to find an event to shoot in Alabama, but after several options fell through, we decided stay one more night in Memphis and spend the day catching up on administrative tasks before leaving for our next stop in Atlanta. But getting any work done amidst the caos of construction was out of the question, so we headed to a local coffee shop. It was there that I overheard the neighboring table talking about the local political climate, and when I interrupted them to tell them about the project, we learned that they were from the local Public Radio station. After a bit of discussion it was decided that we should head over to the station to tape an interview! A week that started out with zero media exposure shaped up pretty well after all!

I contacted Sgt. Courtney Davis to ask if he might organize another event with a little less airport security, where we might take portraits of these veterans who have been volunteering for the Obama campaign. And in the spirit of Southern hospitality, we were cordially invited to his home in Rowlett, just outside Dallas, that Sunday afternoon. Courtney told me he didn’t think he could still fit into his uniform but he’d encourage his buddies to try to squeeze back into theirs.

When we arrived at the suburban home there were already a couple of guys gathered in the living room watching football. I only hoped they’d find us interesting enough to tear themselves away from the game long enough to be photographed. Both of the football watchers were in civilian cloths, but soon after Rob and I had gotten the set up in the driveway, a uniformed pair arrived to join the group, and soon the gathering had moved to the front yard. There was plenty of playful verbal sparing between the various branches of the military who were in attendance, but most of the conversation centered on their hopes for the upcoming election.

Rob was so pleased by the veterans meticulous attention to instruction and said that they’d all taken direction better than anyone he’d ever photographed. Most of the men in uniform stood at attention and wouldn’t crack a smile, despite Rob’s attempts. But Harold, a decorated Sergeant Major, was exuberant and jovial, saying he was retired now and no longer needed to scare anyone.

Courtney also introduced us to Donald, a traveling Obama activist who had contacted him about his troop registration event the day before, and also wanted to have his portrait taken for the project. Donald, a PHD and former science teacher, has been living out of his van as he travels the country promoting his bill on election reform. Don explained to us the theory behind the bill, as we finished photographing the last of the veterans, and by the time we’d broken down the set and packed up the car I think we were more confused than when he’d begun! We were so grateful to have met such passionate and patriotic pro Obama folks in Dallas, Texas!