Anderson@Large

Power of the Sister Vote

I spent part of Election Day at the Power of the Sister Vote Command Center, organized by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Black Women’s Roundtable.

The Command Center was co-hosted by Clayola Brown, Melanie Campbell, Dr. Elsie Scott and Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner. Between Twitter updates, Facebook posts and media conference calls, the center was a beehive of activity.

The sisters were determined to tell our story in real time with field reports from black women who were leading nonpartisan GOTV efforts and monitoring the polls.

And the story is, black voters turned out. Exit polls show African American voters represented 10 percent of the electorate, virtually unchanged from 2006. If the past is prologue, black women represented a disproportionate share of the black electorate.

Indeed, it bears remembering that among all racial, ethnic and gender groups, black women had the highest voter turnout rate in 2008.

To be sure, Democrats were hoping for a presidential year surge in black voters but they have to ask themselves: What did they do to make it happen? Where were the resources to mobilize black voters? A last-minute black media spend is not a GOTV plan.

With the defunding of black voter empowerment groups dating back to 2004 2000, the sisters made a way out of no way. As Rev. Dr. Iyanla Vanzant observed during the “Black Girls Rock: Celebrating the Brilliance of Black Women” awards show:

Black girls rock because we have no other choice.

An intergenerational group of black women will rock the house that Dr. Dorothy I. Height built when they gather for the Power of the Sister Vote post-election briefing. They will discuss black voter turnout, how women candidates fared in congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative races. They will share their views and outlook on what impact the new political landscape will have on issues of importance to women and families.

The panelists are:

• Barbara Arnwine, Esq., Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• Melanie L. Campbell, President & CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener, Black Women’s Roundtable
• Chanelle Hardy, Esq., Senior Vice President & Executive Director, National Urban League Policy Institute
• Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, Executive Director, National Council of Negro Women
• Carol Joyner, Consultant, Labor Project for Working Families
• Illai Kenney, Black Youth Vote! Coordinator, Howard University
• Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
• Laura Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
• Dr. Elsie Scott, President & CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
• Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Co-Facilitator, National African American Clergy Network

I have the distinct honor of moderating the discussion.

The briefing will be held on Wednesday, November 17, from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., at the National Council of Negro Women Headquarters, 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.

To register, please RSVP to Monifa Bandele or Stacie Royster no later than November 16.

Remembering Dr. Dorothy I. Height

Civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy Irene Height will be funeralized today at 10 a.m. ET. 

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend Dr. Height’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. The President will deliver the eulogy.

By Presidential Proclamation, flags will be flown at half-staff at the White House and other public buildings:

As a mark of respect for the memory of Dorothy Height, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that, on the day of her interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on such day. I further direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

The National Cathedral is located about five miles from the headquarters of Dr. Height’s beloved National Council of Negro Women.

I spent Election Day 2008 at NCNW, where the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation monitored voter turnout and problems at the polls.

Dr. Height joined us to watch the election returns. When the election was called for Barack Obama, she shared her thoughts:

Many people lost their lives working to get the vote. For a while we received the vote but we weren’t using the vote. We learned how to use that vote and you see the results tonight.

In many instances we are the swing vote. Just because we are a minority doesn’t mean that we can’t make a difference. We all should be proud that we have a man like Barack Obama. He prepared himself and he carried himself throughout this with dignity and strength. Whether they voted for him or not, they have to acknowledge that he has been presidential all the way.

As to the meaning of a President Obama:

It means that what I’ve worked for has not been in vain. I see in Barack Obama a sense of the future and realize the strength that’s in our people. A young man who’s so devoted, so sincere, and so able to do what he wants to do.

The jockeying has begun to claim the civil rights mantle, but no one can fill her Ferragamo pumps. When the good Lord made Dr. Height, he broke the mold.

Let’s count our blessings that we had her for 98 years. Dr. Height was a drum major for justice who has earned her place in American history and in our hearts.