"We will have no power," he said in a booming baritone. "We will have no freedom until we vote."
Palmer, regional director of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Union, was the guest speaker at Saturday's Freedom Fund Banquet for the Mansfield branch of the NAACP.
The presidential election was on Palmer's mind.
"What is it that America needs?" he asked. "I feel America needs someone that will tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington, D.C., are over."
Palmer noted the economic problems in Ohio, saying 180,000 residents have lost their jobs because of factory shutdowns.
"We live in troubled times," he said. "We need someone who will raise the minimum wage -- instead of every 10 years -- to keep pace so that workers don't fall far behind."
Palmer said the nation needs a president that will take tax breaks away from companies that are sending jobs overseas. He said the next leader must fight for labor and protect Social Security.
Palmer said even if Barack Obama is elected, racial discrimination will not end.
"Even Mansfield is separated," Palmer said. "I didn't know that the equator line was Park Avenue.
"We live in a country where race determines where we live, how we live and how long we live. We need equal rights for all people regardless of their color."
Palmer recognized mere mortals might not be the answer to getting us out of these tough financial times, which he called the worst since the Great Depression.
"There's only one person who will get us out of this," he said. "It won't be John McCain or Barack Obama. It will be the man himself."
Speaking with the passion of a preacher, Palmer brought listeners at the Holiday Inn to their feet.
Palmer earned his first standing ovation with a song. He has performed at the White House and before Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Palmer's latest CD is called "Stand Up Together," which he says exemplifies his philosophy of life.
Mansfield Mayor Don Culliver urged attendees to vote.
"All of us need to participate in this process," he said. "If this city is going to go forward, it's going to go forward in the political process."
Before she introduced Palmer, Marcia Webb, president of the local branch of the NAACP, and chairman Edison Dorsey recognized this year's award winners.
Dennis Baker, executive director of the local Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Outreach Program, earned the president's award. Other recipients were Upper Crust Restaurant co-owner Diana Woodrow, community service award; and Reindl Spring Service Inc., small business award.