President Obama was fired up at the United Auto Workers conference today, speaking about the choice he made to bet on America’s auto industry—and why he knew we couldn’t just “let Detroit go bankrupt.”

Think about what that choice would have meant for this country, if we had turned our backs on you, if America had thrown in the towel, if GM and Chrysler had gone under. The suppliers, the distributors that get their business from these companies, they would have died off. Then even Ford could have gone down as well. Production shut down. Factories shuttered. Once-proud companies chopped up and sold off for scraps. And all of you, the men and women who built these companies with your own hands, would have been hung out to dry.

So, no, we were not going to take a knee and do nothing. We were not going to give up on your jobs and your families and your communities. So in exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We said to the auto industry, you’re going to have to truly change, not just pretend like you’re changing.

We got the industry to retool and restructure, and everybody involved made sacrifices. Everybody had some skin in the game. And it wasn’t popular. And it wasn’t what I ran for President to do. That wasn’t originally what I thought I was going to be doing as President. But you know what, I did run to make the tough calls and do the right things—no matter what the politics were.

And I want you to know, you know why I knew this rescue would succeed?

It wasn’t because of anything the government did. It wasn’t just because of anything management did. It was because I believed in you. I placed my bet on the American worker. And I’ll make that bet any day of the week.

And now, three years later, that bet is paying off—not just paying off for you, it’s paying off for America. Three years later, the American auto industry is back. GM is back on top as the number-one automaker in the world—highest profits in its 100-year history. Chrysler is growing faster in America than any other car company. Ford is investing billions in American plants, American factories—plans to bring thousands of jobs back to America.

This notion that we should have let the auto industry die, that we should pursue anti-worker policies in the hopes that unions like yours will buckle and unravel—that’s part of that same old “you are on your own” philosophy that says we should just leave everybody to fend for themselves; let the most powerful do whatever they please. They think the best way to boost the economy is to roll back the reforms we put into place to prevent another crisis, to let Wall Street write the rules again. They think the best way to help families afford health care is to roll back the reforms we passed that [are] already lowering costs for millions of Americans. They want to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny your coverage or jack up your rates whenever and however they pleased. They think we should keep cutting taxes for those at the very top, for people like me, even though we don’t need it, just so they can keep paying lower tax rates than their secretaries.

Well, let me tell you something. Not to put too fine a point on it—they’re wrong. They are wrong. That’s the philosophy that got us into this mess. We can’t afford to go back to it. Not now. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a long way to go before everybody who wants a good job can get a good job. We’ve got a long way to go before middle-class Americans fully regain that sense of security that’s been slipping away since long before this recession hit. But you know what, we’ve got something to show—all of you show what’s possible when we pull together. Over the last two years, our businesses have added about 3.7 million new jobs. Manufacturing is coming back for the first time since the 1990s. Companies are bringing jobs back from overseas. The economy is getting stronger. The recovery is speeding up. Now is the time to keep our foot on the gas, not put on the brakes.

When our assembly lines grind to a halt, we work together and we get them going again. When somebody else falters, we try to give them a hand up, because we know we’re all in it together. I got my start standing with working folks who’d lost their jobs, folks who had lost their hope because the steel plants had closed down. I didn’t like the idea that they didn’t have anybody fighting for them. The same reason I got into this business is the same reason I’m here today. I’m driven by that same belief that everybody—everybody—should deserve a chance.

So I promise you this: As long as you’ve got an ounce of fight left in you, I’ll have a ton of fight left in me. We’re going to keep on fighting to make our economy stronger; to put our friends and neighbors back to work faster; to give our children even more opportunity; to make sure that the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth.

Read the President’s full speech here, and make sure to share it with everyone you know.

Lovingly referred to as the “Mayor of Linden,” at 87 years old, Clarence Lumpkin is one of Ohio’s most well respected citizens.

After serving in World War II, Mr. Lumpkin moved to Columbus, and with his activism and service, worked to alleviate poverty and economic decline in Linden, a neighborhood in southern Columbus.

Described by his son Douglas as “grassroots,” Clarence spearheaded revitalization efforts in Columbus.

He made sure that Linden was one of the first inner-city communities in America to have a streetlight on every corner, and worked with the city council to reduce drug crime in the city and provide jobs for young people.

As a plaintiff in NAACP vs. The Board of Education in the 1950s, Mr. Lumpkin was also instrumental in desegregating the Coclumbus school system.

Douglas continued his Father’s tradition of service to his community in many roles, most recently as the Director of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

“When it came to community, Dad was authentic,” he told the Call & Post, a local newspaper.

As a veteran, engaged citizen, and African American for Obama, Mr. Lumpkin knows how important it is for the African American community to re-elect President Obama and stay engaged in politics.

“President Obama is a fair, honest, and just man. He is about helping the American people. Not just rich people, but middle income as well as low-income people. He’s concerned about jobs, the economy, and small businesses. And all of these things are beneficial nation-wide. Inner city as well as outer-city, so to speak.”

Mr. Lumpkin is a testament to the power of good people in government, and implores everyone to get involved at a young age.

“Most of the things I accomplished in the city of Columbus were due to politics or working with politicians, and I became politically involved as a teenager. I was active getting people registered to vote and getting out the vote, and campaigning for individuals who had the black community’s interest at heart. To improve the conditions and quality of life for the people of Columbus, I had to be involved in politics,” he said.

Whether it’s the Post Office named after him or the community center in Linden that he helped erect, Mr. Lumpkin’s impact in the greater Columbus area is immeasurable.

“I don’t know how many post offices that are named after African Americans but I do know this one is named after me,” Mr. Lumpkin said.

Despite all of his accomplishments in life, Mr. Lumpkin couldn’t resist the opportunity to get involved when President Obama announced his candidacy in 2007.

“I campaigned for him when he first decided to run for president. I met him and had a reception for him here in Columbus. I’ve always supported President Obama and always will. I’m 87 years old and don’t have much energy now, but I’ll do what I’m able to this time around as well.”

We salute Clarence Lumpkin as a testament to the American dream, and hope you’ll support him and his work by joining African Americans for Obama.

Brian Kennedy takes advantage of the opportunities that come his way. He began his college career at North Carolina Central University to study Political Science and History in the fall of 2008—right in the middle of the last presidential election. Brian knew he was in the midst of a unique time in our nation’s history, so he decided to take action. He got involved with the Obama campaign through a local group called the Obama Squad, where he canvassed and helped register voters.

But when Barack Obama was elected, Brian didn’t stop working. He became active in his student government, and continued to help with local voter registration efforts and issue education initiatives on campus. That summer, his hard work paid off when he was selected to work on the President’s Fiscal Commission as an intern.

So when he got the chance to ask Senior Democratic Strategist Valerie Jarrett and Campaign Manager Jim Messina a question at the HCBU Student Summit last Tuesday, he knew he had another special opportunity.

It was literally like a dream. It was exciting, slightly scary, but most of all it was empowering. As a news junkie, I watch CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN, and was thinking, "Man, if I can just get my voice on there…" This was an opportunity to be heard. I asked the question: “How do we encourage upward mobility through education while there are systematic obstacles that inhibit and discourage students from pursuing and capitalizing on higher education?"

Today, Brian interns with NCCU's Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change where he works to promote the issues of education and voter registration. He’s interested in social policy, specifically education, jobs, health, and issues that affect African Americans. Eventually, he wants to work in a problem-solving capacity around these issues through think tanks and other research and advocacy organizations.

I was always taught that education equaled freedom, and to pursue your education at all cost. My friends from high school also understood the importance of education; however, most of them were deterred for one reason or another. I also think that going to college isn't enough. In order to obtain that "freedom" you have to utilize and take advantage of certain experiences and opportunities. Things like leadership positions and unpaid internships are a critical part of your college experience. However, those opportunities are inaccessible to a lot of students, especially those from financially unstable homes.

And now that it’s election season again, Brian’s already making plans to take action on his campus and in his community.

The difficult part is helping people to make informed decisions and getting them to the polls to cast that vote. Many people aren't apathetic, they just aren't aware of the issues. In a nation of over 300 million people, it's easy to feel like your vote doesn't matter. We have to empower people to educate themselves and want to vote.

One way to join Brian in helping to educate and motivate voters for this fall’s election is to sign up for African Americans for Obama today. You can also see a list of local events.

Every day I get to meet new people and hear their personal stories. It is one of the biggest privileges of being a community organizer in the city of Milwaukee. Since the beginning of his campaign, President Obama has focused on the stories we have and the stories we share with each other.

My personal journey began when then-Senator Obama began running for President in 2007. From that moment, I’ve been volunteering with the campaign and am now a community organizer to help build our teams on the Northside of Milwaukee.

Simply put, on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama issued me an invitation to join him on a journey to restore America. He said during his victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago:

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep.... There will be setbacks and false starts... But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

He issued me an invitation to become more active and more involved than I ever had before. He was willing to stand up for change, and asked me to be part of that change. As President Obama has said many times, I was the one I'd been waiting for to effect change.

That change can be seen in our local Milwaukee neighborhoods every day, as our teams continue to talk to our friends and neighbors about registering and being prepared to vote on Election Day. Every person in Wisconsin needs to own their vote.

The teams I work with every day share the same vision and work together to make sure we’re sharing this important information with everyone we know. We are going door to door, reaching out to local businesses and starting a conversation about the importance of their voice and their vote. Together, we are part of that change to better the future for our communities and our state.

President Obama has inspired me with his courage and conviction. I’ve been moved to action to help move our state, and our nation—forward.

Join community organizers like Felisia and be part of our organizing team today - be the change in your local neighborhood and join African Americans for Obama.

Mark Williams, a new volunteer team member in Lower Northeast Philadelphia, is passionate about re-electing President Obama. And if you ask him why, he'll tell you that it comes down to three simple words: “American Jobs Act.”

"He’s a jobs president. I really like that."

Mark, a retired Staff Sergeant, enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1984, where he served for almost a decade. After his tour, Mark returned to the neighborhood in Northeast Philly where he grew up. He is passionate about mentoring young people in his community, and gives back to the city that raised him every day through his work with the Boys and Girls Club and Philadelphia's Safe and Drug Free Schools program.

While he believes that the President has addressed many critical issues during his first term, for Mark, the one that matters most is jobs for veterans:

"I'm a veteran, and nowadays there are a lot of unemployed veterans. I like the fact that the president supports the jobs market by bringing jobs from oversees back here. This affects not just me, but the people I served with. We find that when we come out of the military, we don't want to just retire. We are still working age, still in good shape, and still want to make a contribution. And the Jobs Act helps us. So I'm supporting the President because he supports jobs."

In between organizing with his neighborhood team to help re-elect the President and serving as a role model to young people across Philadelphia, Mark also coaches a youth football team. The Frankfort Chargers were division champs this year, finishing their season with an 11 – 0 undefeated record.

Join Mark in working to re-elect President Obama by signing up for African Americans for Obama.

My name is Simone Stephenson. I work in sales, and I'm a volunteer for President Obama's campaign in my hometown (and his): Chicago, Illinois.

In a way, I first joined the President's campaign when I was in high school. Every Chicago public school student had to have a certain number of community service hours to graduate—so my mom made me volunteer for this guy, Barack Obama. He was a state senator who wasn't even that well known outside of the city, and it was just me, him, and one other person in that office working side by side. Now that I'm older and take advantage of every opportunity I get, I can hardly believe how lucky I was—but back then I was just trying to get my hours in and go to the movies with my friends.

A few years later, he was in the U.S. Senate and I was a college student applying for summer internships in D.C. I think he remembered me from home, because I got a job interning for his office on Capitol Hill. In 2007, I started volunteering for his presidential campaign. I traveled to the Carolinas, where I knocked on doors, made phone calls, and tried to be as active as I could, because I really felt strongly about getting him in the White House.

Almost four years later, we're back at it again. I'm phonebanking every week, and I'm about to start as a phone bank captain with a neighborhood team in Chicago's 2nd Ward. My favorite part of what I do is meeting people who have the same goals as me—it's really nice to be surrounded by people who want to see President Obama in the White House for another term. I love having that common bond.

The President has a lot of support here in Illinois because he's taking action on some of the issues that affect us most directly. Home ownership is a big deal here, and just yesterday, the President spoke about the mortgage crisis and what needs to be done. We were raised to believe that owning a home is part of doing well in this country, but it's getting harder and harder. I'm glad the President is going out on a limb to help with that.

I also appreciate the President's efforts to take on student loan debt. I've been fortunate not to have to deal with student loans, but I have really close friends who are struggling and can't afford other necessities because they have to pay their student loans. I think that's ridiculous. Education shouldn't be so expensive that only the wealthy can afford it—I think everybody should have a fair shot, so that's high on my list.

The reasons I came to this campaign are the same reasons I'm still in it today. From the very beginning, President Obama ran his platform on this idea of hope and change. He's done a lot to help people, and he has changed this country for the better—but even more important, he's given people hope. He wasn't born into an elite family; he was born into a family like ours. He always says his story is only possible in America, but before he was elected, his story wasn't something any of us could have imagined. And that gives people hope. It gives little kids hope that no matter how poor you are or what your race is or where you come from, you really can do anything—even be president. It was a far-fetched idea, but now we know it's true.

Stay connected with Simone and the rest of the team by following @OFA_Illinois on Twitter—and don't forget to check the state blog for updates.