The election of Barack Obama is a validation of the work of suffragists, abolitionists, union organizers, anti-war activists and others who fought to expand the vote. Why did he win the election? He opposed the war in Iraq after anti-war activists invited him to a rally in Chicago.  

GRITtv with Laura Flanders broadcast live from Busboys and Poets cafe in Washington, DC during inauguration week. Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Organizer at the Institute for Policy Studies, Nicole Lee, Executive Director of the TransAfrica Forum, and Steve Cobble, Co-Founder of Progressive Democrats of America, and singer/songwriter Holly Near discuss Obama's rise.