President Obama is doing his part to make sure African-American voters know how crucial it is that we turn out in mass numbers for the upcoming Presidential election.
During several recent speaking engagements, the President has been making it a point to stress the importance of ensuring that Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump does not become the next Commander-in-Chief by encouraging people to vote. Specifically targeting Black voters while speaking at the 2016 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night, POTUS was adamant in encouraging attendees to realize the value of the African-American vote, while briefly highlighting all that is at stake.
“If you care about our legacy, realize everything we stand for is at stake,” he said. “All the progress we’ve made is at stake in this election. My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot, Democracy is on the ballot.
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Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration — that’s on the ballot right now!”
A particularly memorable and truthful moment in the President’s speech came when he told the audience that he’d consider a low voter turnout in the African-American community a “personal insult,” while again emphasizing the importance of heading to the polls this November. “After we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good send-off? Go vote.”
See President Obama’s CBC speech in full below.