August 2008 - Kansas City training

Reclamation in Kansas City!

This election cycle represents an exciting opportunity to claim our stake in a better future by reclaiming the bedrock values of our past. Nationally, this excitement is represented by our nomination of an African- American to run for the Presidency of the United States. This is historic and reflects the essential ideals that lay at the heart of - what has been referred to as- the” American Experiment”. It speaks well for how near our country has come to the true equality embedded in our essential democratic principles. However, while these values have always been declared in principle, they haven’t always been reflected in practice. Remarkably, this year’s election represents the equal opportunity for all of us that always existed for some of us. This has been accomplished, in my humble opinion, through a real reclamation of the values on which our great country was built.

This is a beautiful thing.

Here at 21st Century Democrats, we are trying to do our part to reclaim those same values through our “Urban Youth Initiative” wherein we reach out to urban activists and help them claim and – in all too many cases- reclaim their place at “the table” by increasing their understanding of the many elements that go into running an election campaign.

After the Civil Rights efforts of the Sixties, significant political gains were realized for urban areas and remarkable numbers of urban residents were empowered to have considerable input at the negotiating table. As such, many people in outlying areas felt that everything was okay. However, the intervening Reagan Years brought together forces which served to reduce, if not eliminate, that newfound power. As a result, our inner cities lost much of their leveraging ability to get things done, and it now seems in many cities there has never been a Civil Rights Movement at all.

21st Century Democrats “Urban Youth Initiative” seeks to redress this fact by empowering citizens to reclaim their political power. In Kansas City this weekend, we were able to continue that process.

Led by US Representative Emanuel Cleaver, we guided 40 activists in a spirited and interactive training session which inspired and reassured many in attendance that their involvement in civic affairs is important. Through the engaging and thorough instruction of our Vice-President for Political Affairs Dan Lucas, our National Field and Training Director Wendy Davis, and yours truly, we were able to help our attendees better understand the campaign process prerequisite to that involvement.

I would be remiss, however, if I did not thank Mr. Michael Bersin of the Missouri State News Blog “Show Me Progress”, who presented an entire hour-long section on blogging and the Internet which proved both stimulating and informative. I would also like to thank Mr. Phil Scaglia, of Congressman Cleaver’s political staff, who put our event together in Kansas City; Phil, it was a pleasure to work with you, you were both resourceful and professional. Thanks!

Quite a number of people approached us afterward offering their thanks for our visit, and shared how instructive our presentation and materials were. As well, Congressman Cleaver took me aside and shared how during an outside event (which he had to attend before returning to our training) he was contacted via cell phone by a couple of attendees who excitedly informed him about how helpful our training was to them. You should go to our website and check out some of the pictures we took during the event.

As I said, it’s a beautiful thing.

This is our country’s time, and 21st Century Democrats intends to do our share through our “Urban Youth Initiative” to help.

It’s now on to Detroit, Michigan, with US House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. I look forward to reporting to you on our training initiative there and our eight (8) nationwide trainings thereafter. Talk to you soon!

You can keep up with everything we're doing and find out more about our trainings by visiting the training page on our website.

More photos from the training:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.