Felicia Davis

While we are all weary of one bailout after another with our economy sliding deeper into recession, we should not forget the role of organized labor in the development of the Black middle class. One in 10 jobs are connected to the auto industry and for Blacks, especially Northern Blacks, there are deeper and more extensive connections to UAW and our mighty automobile industry. Union jobs still offer the best opportunity for supporting a family for men and women lacking a college education. Looking back a few years, these were the jobs that helped to put a generation of first-time college graduates through school.

Driven by globalization our entire economy is in transition and this is not the time to let such an important industry fail. In addition to the impact on the economy, we are also engaged in two wars with hot spots all over the world. Should we need it, the auto industry can produce equipment essential for national defense. Hopefully we will never need a national mobilization at the WWII level, still it seems that it is better to retain manufacturing capacity than to bet that it will not be needed. We should use our tax dollars to ensure domestic manufacturing capacity if possible.

We should remember the contributions of great leaders like A. Philip Randolph as well as the ordinary Black men and women who paid mortgages, put kids through college, and helped to strengthen our communities. It was GM that provided buses to transport people to the Poor Peoples’ March on Washington not to mention supporting national organizations in significant ways for decades. When you really think about it we should be loyal customers and reject foreign imports. A corporate campaign of this sort is against trade agreements but there is nothing stopping the Black community from advancing our own interests. We can advance “Buy American” and “Unity with UAW,” to do otherwise dishonors the struggle that really helped move us forward.

It is also important to note the phenomenal opportunity that skilled labor provides young adults eager to work, rear families, and become productive citizens. It is a fact that a rising tide lifts all ships, so anything that helps Black America helps all of America.

Let’s do this people. Put our tax dollar to work for Americans who work. Please reject all claims that the current challenge is the fault of overpaid laborers who only struggled to get a fair share of the profit from their labor. Call and email your Congressional Delegation Now.

FeliciaD

Beware, those on the Right might want to show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Our youth are watching and the world is watching. Obama will be the next leader of the free world. When it comes to the politics of personal destruction, as Rev. Al says, Not This Time! We are on our job working for universal turnout. I am not angry, in fact, I feel sorry for white people who in 2008 cannot accept the leadership of a Black man. As a result we will enter the most vicious period of personal attacks witnessed in America. It will be up to the youth of America to lead the way for their elders.

What exactly are Sara and Mac saying to me? I am a community organizer. My goal has been to help marginalized communities participate fully in our democracy. I always believed it was important to participate even when the choices did not reflect my interests well. Even when it was still impossible for a Black man or woman to become president, I still participated. I didn’t realize then what it felt like to be really proud of my country. I wasn’t ashamed, I was simply sensitive to the way we treat people who have less, the poor and the ignorant and especially people who are dark like me. What did I have to be really proud of? Slavery, Jim Crow, Discrimination, Racism? How could any Black person fully embrace America before the presidency was open to us? When Obama was nominated I found myself waving a flag and believing for the first time that it was possible to move beyond racism to elevate the best qualified candidate to lead the world.
My ancestors were phenomenal to pass on a vision of freedom so strong that it propelled us to this day.

In some ways I am envious of those who have always had this feeling based upon being born in a privileged position compared to Blacks. I wonder how they will feel when Obama is elected? Will Sean Hannity in his patriotism lift up the president? Will John McCain in his regard for the commander and chief salute Obama? Will Sarah rally Joe Six Pack to fall in behind our leader at a time when our nation needs all hands on deck? I resent the effort to take this feeling away from those of us who have given so much to just to participate, to be included, to make an even greater contribution.

There is no way that I can even begin to be objective about the Biden-Palin debate. The bar was set so low for Sarah Palin that it is impossible for me to compare her to Joe Biden. How dare a candidate in a debate announce that she will not be answering the questions posed by the moderator, especially when she is seeking my vote? Bottom line, I just don't like Sarah Palin. I don't like the way she talks, the snide little remarks that she makes, or the way she tries to identify with everyday people. I especially can't stand the way that she says "peeeople". I wish she would go back to Alaska and I am so relieved that there is only one VP debate.

I am trying to understand how anyone can be undecided. What are they considering? The Republicans ruined our country and they are a disgrace to the word conservative. In times of war a good leader would ask the nation to sacrifice, to save, and support the war effort. Our president actually encouraged us to shop and in spite of the fact that we are in debt and cannot afford this war McCain-Palin seem to have a very narrow definition of victory that I believe is somehow connected to his impression of Viet Nam. In times of economic crisis a good leader would step forward to exude confidence in the economy rather than stoking the flames of fear. Above all, it is time for women to make our voices heard and we cannot sing the same old tune. John McCain is a veteran and a hero but it is not true that he is the only candidate that has “fought for me”. I respect and honor is service but I also appreciate the service Senators Obama and Biden and even the contribution that Gov. Palin is making in Alaska.

Low expectations have thrown our nation into a downward spiral in education, work, and now even the highest office in the nation. As I write the media is going on about the fact that Gov. Palin stopped the bleed. It looked to me like the woman was reading her answers and while Palin did a good job staying on the narrow message and few answers that she obviously memorized we are all sick and tired of talking points. Senator Biden is older and more experienced but the point is that I can imagine him helping to get legislation through the congress no matter how it is configured. Sarah would need a tutor. This is not a position for on the job training and is offensive to compare Palin to Obama.

I was so pleased when Joe Biden spoke about Darfur, climate change, and the need for revisions to the bankruptcy laws to benefit the middle class in ways that the wealthy already enjoy. These are issues that many of us care about and I trust Obama-Biden to make a dramatic change for the better, not just for America but for the entire world.

I have just read that white women are trending toward Obama and I wanted to pause and express my honest appreciation. Making history is meaningful to all groups, especially those who have been denied coveted opportunities over long periods of time, so it is understandable that white women would identify with Sarah Palin and want to give her a chance. Even if race were not a factor gender is and putting them both together creates a subtle, yet very real, gap. On top of this, many women have shifted their positions where abortion is concerned.

All women want the right to control their bodies but it is difficult to fully rationalize abortion on demand given the remarkable advances in technology. We must respect women who fight for life but we must also remember that ending unwanted pregnancies is a practice that pre-dates Roe v. Wade. It is best not to push the practice back underground. We struggle with so many contradictions, if criminal activity results in the loss of an unborn life of a child that is cherished it is indeed murder, so we all may want to think again about the standard for the unloved and unwanted. To know that even a few of these women have been able to look past a single, though profound, issue to side with the overall greater good elicits my admiration. In a real way the collective women’s vote, black, brown, white, red, and yellow will determine the direction of the Free World. White women are front and center with tough choices to make.

I understand that for feminists Hillary Clinton was their “shero” and it is a crushing experience when our heroes are defeated. It is painful and sometimes impossible to ever embrace the victor. Politics is personal and feminism is political. We knew liberal organizations would say the right thing but to be honest some of us were prepared for a fight to the bitter end. To learn that a good number of strong feminist women have actually put policy first and have worked hard to convince others to follow their lead is remarkable. Some of us still have an eyebrow raised and arms folded because we were ready for “here they go again” but not this time. This time feminist have demonstrated an ability to set feelings aside, oh they won’t like being called emotional still they have to admit that they were filled with passion and fire advancing the first viable woman presidential candidate. We know what it is like when all that remains is smoldering defeat and to rise to support the opponent, that is not party loyalty, that is extraordinary.

For Black women it has been much easier to arrive at an early decision. Change and hope have been our mantra for so long that for us an Obama candidacy was truly a dream come true. We scrutinized the spouse and found Michelle Obama to be exceptionally well qualified to be our very own first. Finally the world would have to entertain the thought, the energy, and yes the power of a Black First Lady. We are lifted by the possibility in much the same way that women were lifted by Title IX to be able to compete among women and experience victory. It feels really good just to be able to compete.

We know that it will be terribly difficult for some white men and women to go into the voting booth and privately pull the leaver for a Black man but we believe in change, especially changed hearts and minds. So today I want to thank my white sisters for being brave enough, and wise enough, and woman enough to embrace change.

This piece is in response to "A feminist's argument for McCain's VP" by Tammy Bruce

By Felicia M. Davis

I cannot believe that the San Francisco Chronicle article,"A feminist's argument for McCain's VP" by Tammy Bruce, is written by any self-respecting feminist, much less the former president of the Los Angeles Chapter of NOW and a lifelong democrat.

To argue that any woman should set aside her values, interests, and intellect to simply vote on the basis of gender is an affront to all of the women who have struggled for years to claim our rightful seat at the decision-making table. In politics there are always winners and losers but there is also the larger agenda, the bigger picture.

As an African American woman I am still waiting for white feminists to respect my womanhood and maybe, for once, follow our lead. In the words of Sojourner Truth, "Ain't I a Woman?"

Strong Black women like the late great Stephanie Tubbs Jones supported Hillary Clinton every step of the way, but Hillary was out maneuvered. Her campaign made serious strategic errors and they lost. By definition campaigns are designed to defeat opponents and all is fair…especially when playing by the rules.

My vote will not be delivered based on race or gender, but I will take a moment to address both. As a young woman I considered myself a feminist.

My Friends,

I know that you want to honor the service of John McCain and you are proud that Sarah Palin delivered the Party line so well. In any other time it would be just as the media says, “game on”. But not this time. This time there is a movement afoot and that is the power of an organizer.

Community organizer is perhaps the highest form of service in our nation. The best and brightest have been drawn to this position motivated by the same values that produce war heroes. Any organizer could easily utilize their talents to simply make money or achieve success, but they identify with the community as a whole.

Organizers look for opportunities to heal communities by creating opportunity where little exists. There is a natural link between organizing and politics, where politics is the business of the community. Barack Obama is a master organizer.

Master organizers possess a unique and highly evolved set of talents and abilities. First of all they are visionaries. This does not mean that they are dreamers or even optimists; it simply means that they can see into the future with clarity and, as a result, can chart a better course than those of more limited vision.

It is easier for organizers to choose between good and better--a quality we refer to as judgment. Intelligence is a given, it is required for work at the street level. Effectiveness at the grassroots level requires the most sophisticated analysis and the ability to process innumerable variables without loosing focus.

Finally there is leadership. Leadership requires confidence in the ability of the community to follow in a direction that is optimal based on benefit to the group as well as the individuals.

Most often we do not know the names of great organizers because they tend to stand behind community leaders that they train and develop. In rare instances organizers are globally recognized: Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Wangari Mathai, all of whom received international recognition for their work as organizers. There have been others. The late Rev. James Orange and Earl Shinhoster are two names that resonate from South Georgia to South Africa in labor and civil rights. These two community organizers paved the way for Barack Obama. Many others remain nameless like so many war heroes.

What distinguishes organizers is that in a real way they wage peace and prosperity with success defined in terms of the common good. Sometimes their battles are more difficult to win than wars on foreign soil, but no less worthy.

Organizers must be educated and enlightened. They must possess an active faith that is used to bring about change. Organizers understand that we must each manifest the change we seek. Master organizers produce great change by expanding their capacity to embrace the community as a whole and, like all great men of faith, show others how to believe.

Make no mistake, all who enter this honored field stand fearlessly on faith. In the long run organizers can never be defeated. In the words of Dr. King, “the arch of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” Barack Obama has already won.

By Felicia M. Davis

Proud Community Organizer - Atlanta, GA

I am trying to stay on the high road but exactly when are we going to challenge ALL of the candidates on ALL issues? We got an opportunity to hear from Obama on race. Now I want to hear where Hillary Clinton and John McCain stand.

They don't have to respond to individual personalities but I want to know exactly what is thier understanding of the situation. Where are they coming from and above all what are their faith orientations. We now know that Obama is a devout Christian. We know something about his church and the work of the church. It would be instructive to compare the works of all three churches.