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The only way to get over is to vote.

Black America has paid a high price for the vote. From the un-kept promises of reconstruction, to the violence that threatened voter registration of the 60's. Blacks have filled history pages with pleas, confrontation, and finally struggle to win their franchise as American citizens.

[[image - black & white head shot photograph of Willie Stargell]]
[[caption]] Willie Stargell [[/caption]]

Now, as a result of voting power, Blacks have become a viable political force in America. The 1970's have witnessed the election of numerous officials on every level of government. Blacks have won mayorships in many cities. And, perhaps the most significant of all achievements, the creation of one of the most important congressional powers in history. The Black Caucus.

[[image - black and white head shot photograph of Nikki Giovanni]]
[[caption]] Nikki Giovanni [[/caption]]

It's a fact of American life that real change in terms of politics only comes through voting. Whether it's getting a bill through Congress, or having the sanitation department do a better job at collecting the garbage. It's the people you put into office that make these things happen because they represent you and your willingness to shape your environment.

[[image - black & white head shot photograph of Willa Benge]]
[[caption]] Willa Benge [[/caption]]

People like Willa Benge, Community Relations Specialist for the Gulf Oil Corporation; Ossie Davis, Actor/Director; Willie Stargell, one of Baseball's greats; and Nikki Giovanni, Author and Poet, urge you to vote. They are all influential in their own right, and their knowledge of the American system has helped them get over. But when it's time to make a personal political statement, they vote. Do you?

[[image - black & white head shot photograph of Ossie Davis]]
[[caption]] Ossie Davis [[/caption]]

[[image - Gulf logo]]
Gulf Oil Corporation.
Because it's human energy that really counts.
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