We've all heard the famous slogan utilized by President Barack Obama on his road to the White House, "Fired up! Ready to go!" But does anyone know where this slogan came from? After watching a tear-jerking Youtube video, I decided that not enough people knew the story of Edith Childs, a retired nurse and civil rights activist, that so graciously gave President Obama his will to fight. You see, it all started back in 2007, when not many people knew the name Barack Obama, nor were they concerned with the idea of him becoming our next president. No, back then he was just a state senator from Illinois who had decided to run for President of the United States.
He encountered Edith Childs for the first time at a rally in Greenwood, South Carolina, where a mere 38 people had bothered to show up to welcome him. Childs, realizing the crowd needed a little something, got up from her seat and went to the stage and started chanting, "Fired up! Ready to go!" She continued this for the next five minutes, and according to President Obama it was all he needed to feel inspired. “I didn’t know what was going on, but everybody else in the room just said, ‘Fired up.’ Then I heard a voice say, ‘Ready to go,’” said Obama in 2008. “I turned behind me and I see this woman, about 5'2, 5'3. She’s dressed like she’s going to church; she’s got a church hat on. She looks right at me, she smiles and she says, ‘Fired up!’”
It was a momentous occasion, and though neither of them realized the impact of this slogan, it was carried throughout his campaign and soon led to not only a two-term presidency, but the respect of an entire nation. President Obama used this chant to unite people, regardless of skin color, sex, gender, socioeconomic status or ethnicity, because he knew there was more to this country than what people saw at first glance.
I watched history be made last Tuesday night when the first female presidential nominee of a major political party was made. And I am fired up, just as I was when I watched the first African American man accept the presidential nominee from a major political party. And I am ready to go, because in November every vote, every voice will matter. And I hope everyone chooses to have his/her's heard by our nation.
Edith Childs reminds everyone to this day that one voice is extremely powerful, and as President Obama states, "It shows you what one voice can do. One voice can change a room. And if a voice can change a room, it can change city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world. You're voice can change the world."
We are fired up, President Obama, but we are not ready for you to go.
See the full video and story of "Fired up! Ready to go!" here.
