It’s an army of supporters across the United States and they are enlisting in droves.

And although they are not taking instructions from a general, colonel or sergeant major, they consider themselves to be the foot soldiers who are fighting for votes in the Democratic presidential primaries to make U.S. Senator Barack Obama the first Black nominee of a major party and, hopefully, the first person of color to occupy the White House.

From Colorado, North Carolina and Massachusetts, to Maryland, Florida, New York and Texas, to mention a few states, the naturalized American citizens of Caribbean background are joining up, some giving money, others proselytizing on the job, while members of a third group are proudly wearing the buttons telling anyone the Illinois Senator is their man. Although many profess admiration for the tenacity of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton when it comes to such issues as health care, education, women’s rights and the aged, they are undeterred by the pervasive fear that when millions of whites get into the voting booths in November they wouldn’t be able to pull the lever for a Black man.

Just as important, some of them were upset by what they see as the anti-Obama statements made by the Clinton camp, especially the attacks by former President Bill Clinton on his wife’s behalf

But why this passion for Obama?

“He just inspires hope in all of us,” said Thelma Gibbons, a health care professional who lives in Maryland. “In all of the 25-plus years since I have been in this country, I was never motivated to make a donation to a political party or to a candidate, but I have done it this time. And after I did it and received word from the Obama campaign, I felt really good about it.”

Actually, the single mother received more than a “thank you” letter. She was informed that her $100 contribution was matched by a donor in another part of the country.

“That was fantastic,” Gibbons said.

The Rev. Laurel Scott, a United Methodist Church pastor in Massachusetts, who is completing studies at Boston University for a doctorate in theology, agrees with her compatriot in Maryland, but goes a step further.

“I don’t preach from the pulpit about support for Obama, but I guess members of the congregation know where I stand,” she said the other day. “I don’t plan to tell people who to vote for, but as it gets closer to the election I plan to urge them to vote. I am supporting Obama because he brings a fresh attitude, a different attitude to the campaign. I like his tone and I would say there isn’t a whole lot of difference between what he stands for and the campaign of Senator Clinton. But I like his style and the substance. The differences between their platforms are in the details and so it came down to me as to whom I would want to represent me, given that their positions are generally the same.”

Strangely enough, what tipped the scale was the Clinton campaign’s attack on Obama.

“To tell the truth, the Clinton campaign’s attack took a nasty, anti-Black tone and I was offended,” said the Methodist minister. “I was particularly offended as someone who was a delegate to the 1992 Convention, when I supported Bill Clinton for the presidency. I just didn’t like it and I decided there and then that Obama was my candidate.”

Dr. Ken Harewood, director of the Bio-Medical Biotechnology Institute at North Carolina Central University, put it differently.

“We are all energized by the prospect of having him elected President,” he said. “But it goes further than that. I have been living in this country for more than 40 years and I haven’t seen a candidate like Obama come forward in all of that time. He is not about race but about changing the course of doing business, formulating policies.

His plan for a national health care program, his early opposition to the war in Iraq, and his stance on a quality education for all are the cornerstones of my support for him.”

Dee Holder, a retired corporate executive pinpoints Obama’s emphasis on change over the established order as the key factor behind her decision to join the Obama army of supporters.

“The message which he brings to the campaign and to the country is hope and change,” she said in Brooklyn. “It really registers and resonates across the country and across ethnic, gender and age lines, but especially among young people. When you look at the support he is getting from people of all backgrounds, it is clear he brings something new.”

Holder readily admits that as a woman it was a difficult decision to make at first, to choose between Obama and Clinton. After all, the Senator from New York, a woman, was “no slouch,” a public figure who “has been in the fight” for many years.

“But having said all of that, it is just amazing that Obama has been able to inspire people to think about issues and to think differently,” she asserted.

Hugh Campbell, a Bronx attorney, said that Obama’s emphasis on change has resonated with voters because of the sincerity and the fresh approach he brings to the political equation.

“We are on the path to making history,” he said. “It is important that he garners the support of people everywhere.”

Like Campbell, Lloyd Lovell, a businessman in Denver, Colorado, the venue for the Democratic Convention where delegates from across the land will choose the party’s standard-bearer in August, used the words “electrifying” and “dynamic” to describe Obama.

“Out in this part of the country, he isn’t seen as a Black candidate but a person running for the presidency,” Lovell asserted. “He is someone who any person, regardless of color or ethnic background, can vote for and that’s what makes him special and so appealing.”

Desmond Chase in New Jersey summed it up well.

“Obama represents the future,” was the way he put it.