2008 Democratic National Convention: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Maya
Soetoro-Ng, Half-sister of Barack Obama, High School Teacher - Hawaii
DENVER, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a
speech, as prepared for delivery, by Maya Soetoro-Ng at the Democratic
National Convention on Monday, August 25, 2008:
Scheduled for delivery: August 25, 2008 - 6:00-7:00 p.m. MT
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080331/DNCCLOGO )
It's an honor to be here tonight, and it's been an honor to meet so many of
you across this country and hear your stories.
Tonight, I want to share my story about growing up with my big brother, Barack
Obama, a truly hard act to follow. When we were young, our family didn't have
much in the way of wealth, but what we did have was far more important. We had
people who made us believe that with a little imagination, we could dream the
improbable; that through hard work, we could accomplish the extraordinary;
that through the power of education, we could propel ourselves to a future far
more promising than our circumstances led us to expect.
Perhaps most importantly, we had our mother. I've thought of her often during
this campaign and wish she were here to see it. She was a sturdy woman and an
eternal optimist who understood that parents are our first and best teachers.
She encouraged us to explore and ask questions and delight in unexpected
discoveries and surprising answers. She brought us to telescopes and
microscopes to remind us that there was a world beyond our limited reach and
that we should sometimes have faith in what we could not see.
Above all, she was a storyteller. She told us tales from history about heroism
in the face of injustice, about beauty breaking through darkness. These
stories suggested that our deepest humanity and happiness would be found by
reaching out to, empathizing with and working to serve others.
In these interconnected times, we need such stories. Like our mother, Barack
opened my mind and spirit to a broader world. He took me to festivals and
museums, introduced me to people from many different neighborhoods and
backgrounds, and taught me about the importance of standing up for what you
believe. I loved to watch him in action, working with such commitment, really
listening to people, bringing them together to solve their own problems.
In these challenging times, we need those skills and that sense of unwavering
responsibility. As a U.S. history teacher, I try to make our country's
fascinating story leap from the page for my students. Woven throughout that
history is the story of our capacity to hope and achieve, even during the
toughest times.
Many of the children I taught in public and charter schools in New York City
and Hawaii had never traveled beyond their neighborhoods for fear of feeling
like outsiders. I wanted them to know that they belonged to something greater.
I wanted them to imagine wider, dream bigger and reach higher, to realize they
had more power than they knew. That is what this nation gave to Barack, and
that is what he wants for his daughters, and my daughter, and every single
child in this country: bountiful opportunity. It is a gift he has already
given us in this campaign.
I've seen it everywhere I travel in people of every age, faith, background and
walk of life, reaching out to one another, staking their own dreams on what we
do together in this election. And I know that if we elect Barack as president,
he'll be there for you just as he's always been there for me. I know he'll
help you realize your dreams just as he's helped me realize mine.
I know we'll make our mothers proud, and, together, we will leave for our
children a better nation. Thank you.
SOURCE 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee
Democratic National Convention Press Office, +1-720-362-2006
