Days before the Oregon presidential primary I was visiting Portland when I learned that Barack Obama would appear at a rally at University of Oregon. From September 11, 2001, when I saw on TV the second plane hit the World Trade Center, I had dedicated my life to peace. Because Obama had voted against the war, he was my candidate.

So, I stood in line for two hours so I could be among the 7,000 people at the rally.

It reminded me of the 1960s when many people attended political events because people had hope of changing the course of our country and the world. Among the Obama supporters that I met were a tattooed punk rocker, a middle aged African American man and his best friend, a white woman, and people who were there with their toddlers and same sex partners. Since I'm African American and came of age during the civil rights movement, it added to my joy to see such support for Obama in a state that is overwhelmingly white.

I framed this picture to show the diversity of people at the rally, and the themes of hope and change that we can believe in.