Alabama County honors Obama with a Holiday

Perry County has voted to make the first Monday in each November as "Barack Obama Day" to honor the president-elect.

By: Associated Press | Alabama's13.com
Published: December 03, 2008

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MARION, Ala. (AP) - A small central Alabama county where Barack Obama received more than 70 percent of the vote on Election Day has created an annual holiday in honor of the president-elect.

The Perry County commission voted 4 to 1 to observe the second Monday in November as "The Barack Obama Day." County offices will close and its roughly 40 workers will get a paid holiday.

The sponsoring commissioner said the holiday is meant to give people faith that difficult goals can be achieved by reflecting on Obama's victory.

The majority of the county's 12,000 residents are black.

An Associated Press exit poll found black voters in Alabama almost universally supported Obama while more than eight in 10 whites backed Republican John McCain. McCain carried the state by 60 percent.