Obama Fans Clamor to Help Write Chapter In History

At Home and in Denver, Residents Follow Campaign

Seventeen-year-old Miranda Ross wasn't thrilled when her mother, Debra, told her she would miss the first week of school because they would be attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

She said she was more concerned about getting started in her classes this week and catching up with friends she hadn't seen all summer than being part of history in the making.

"Then my mom told me this is something that not a lot of kids have the opportunity to do," said Miranda, a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. "She said this is going to be part of history and she didn't want me to miss out on seeing it. A lot of people said that to me, so I finally realized how important it was."

Prince George's County supporters of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have been riveted by his presidential campaign and events in Denver. Dozens traveled to the convention, and others are following the action through the media.

Orlan Johnson, 44, a lawyer from Bowie and a member of Obama's national finance team, said that many Prince George's residents feel a special affinity for Obama. Although people in other parts of the country doubted Obama's chances for success, authorities said, many in Prince George's signed on to his campaign early, volunteering in local and national efforts to raise money and register voters.

Supporters showed up 4,000 strong at a rally in October at Prince George's Community College to acknowledge their allegiance. "When he came to the college," said Damon Rogers, 29, of Fort Washington, a consultant, "it felt like we were seeing one of our own. I know he's not from Prince George's, but he is Prince George's."

For many of the county's black residents, Johnson said, Obama represents what they see in themselves: a proud African American who came from modest beginnings and who, through education and hard work, found success that he has parlayed into an opportunity help others.

But Obama's rise isn't only about politics; it's also about empowerment and equity. Many African Americans say that Obama's political success in a nation where many of their ancestors were once held in bondage shows for the first time that a black person can accomplish anything.

For white residents of the majority black county, Obama's advancement shows how far society has come toward the color blindness that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed about, residents said.

"You see this individual, this American and this African American, and it's like he's the first person in your class to do something big by having a chance to be president of the United States," said Johnson, a married father of three who went to the convention. "In the early days, you hear him, and what he's saying makes sense, and you sign on. You see people responding to his message and people around the world listening to him, and you get excited that it can happen.

"Then comes Iowa and the other victories," Johnson said. "This whole thing is like going to the NBA All-Star game and the opera at the same time. The show is going to be great, but just being in the town as this historical event is happening is exciting in itself. Just witnessing it is exciting."

Carolyne Davis, a retired teacher who lives in Mitchellville, said she couldn't make the trip because she had just returned from the West Coast, where she was visiting her granddaughter, and she is planning a Mediterranean cruise in the spring. But she said she has been glued to TV coverage of the convention to get reports on her choice for president.