President Elect Obama is receiving well deserved best wishes and congratulations from millions of people across America and throughout the world. The hip-hop community in particular came out in record numbers to vote and to help provide the margin of victory for Obama.
Global Grind expresses it gratitude especially to the hip-hop generation for helping to make history. We are sure the Obama campaign also is very grateful for the tremendous turnout of youth voters.
We are issuing an urgent call to vigilance and continued action by America's young voters to insure that Obama's leadership is fortrightly supported. The election is over, but the essential work of transformation has just begun.
Fixing the economy for all Americans with emphasis on the working and middle class to restoring confidence in the corridors of Wall Street will require the same serious focused leadership that has come to embody Obama's successful journey to the White House.
Steadfastness of resolve will be necessary. Hip-hop is about perseverance. It is about not only overcoming the odds, but it is also about rising to the occasion to make the critical difference.
Delivering health care to all, increasing quality education opportunity, ensuring social and economic justice, protecting the environment, international dialogue and peace to end war and poverty and overall making our participation in democracy more effective and long lasting means not sitting down but continuing to stand up, speak out and to take back responsibility.
We must internalize the hard won lessons of the Obama campaign. Participatory democracy works. Keeping our faith in God and country and always striving to make our communities and world a better place is a sustained priority. Hip-hop is the culture of transformation. Obama is the "transformative" President Elect. Yes, let's celebrate. But we must be more involved and accountable now than ever before to support Obama.
We can not afford to go back to politics as usual. The change that we prayed and worked for is here.
-Russell Simmons