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Somebody Died for Me

By Steve Phillips

In 1988, I took a delegation of California students to the South for the first-ever Super Tuesday to help mobilize African-American voters in the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. An idealistic college student at the time, I met many of the key leaders of the Movement and even visited the grave of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young civil rights demonstrator who was shot and killed by a state trooper during a voting rights rally. Jimmie Lee’s death sparked the Selma-to-Montgomery march and led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Jesse Jackson says that the Voting Rights Act was written in blood before it was signed in ink. As a result of that ’88 trip to the South, I became deeply connected to the legacy of those who died for me, for millions of others, and for democracy itself.

Twenty years later, we are facing another historic moment. The nation and the world must confront life-and-death challenges such as global warming, terrorism, globalization, poverty and disease. In the Presidential primaries, people are already turning out in record numbers, for a slate of diverse candidates including a woman, an African American, and a Latino.

All of us are called to respond to this historical imperative, and PowerPAC is doing its part. Building on the kind of work we have done in California, we are expanding to eight Black Belt states during this crucial 2008 election year: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These states – where the critical battles for democracy, justice, and inclusion were waged -- collectively represent more than half of the national African American electorate.

We will be educating and mobilizing African-American voters in these states leading up to Feb. 5 “Super Duper Tuesday” Primary and going beyond that through March 11, when Mississippi votes. Our goal and primary mission is to honor the legacy of Jimmie Lee Jackson and ensure that all of those whose franchise was secured by struggle and sacrifice in the Civil Rights Movement know about the upcoming elections and turn out to vote.

In addition to our core work of voter mobilization, from time to time, PowerPAC also supports candidates of conscience, who we believe will help expand democratic participation and advance the cause of social justice. This is one of those times, and we will enthusiastically promote the candidacy of Barack Obama during his historic quest for the White House.

2008 comes forty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and twenty years after my first sojourn to the Black-Belt South. Those for whom Jimmie Lee Jackson and Dr. King died can now pick the next President, and PowerPAC is going to do all it can to ensure that as many people as possible participate in this historic election. Jimmie Lee would demand nothing less of us.

Faith, Hope and Justice in 2008

Dear PowerPAC friends and supporters,

This is the moment we have been waiting for.

For the last eight months, I have been working on a new campaign called Vote Hope, supporting Barack Obama's historic campaign for President of the United States. Obama's campaign is both riding and propelling the kind of positive movement for social change that this country hasn't seen in nearly 40 years. I'm writing today to ask you, supporters of this movement in California, to join me in this effort. I believe that if we give our all over the next two and a half months, we can not only help Barack win the Democratic nomination, but we can also solidify a multi-racial movement for justice and hope that will truly signal a new era in this nation.

Vote Hope, is working deeply in communities that have been historic levers for social change -- African Americans, Latinos and students -- and our goal is to emerge after the primary on Feb. 5, 2008, as a network that is larger and stronger than ever before.

Join this network for hope and change now!

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Rights for Immigrants in San Diego Continue to Smolder: An Update

In the aftermath of the fires, as the weather turns cold, thousands of individuals, many of them immigrants, are still struggling to survive. Some have lost their homes and many more have lost their jobs--they were the farmworkers in the fields that burned or the nannies, lawn care workers, or day laborers who earned their living in the houses and neighborhoods that no longer exist. Many of them are unwilling or unable to access "official" relief resources out of fear that they will be subject to immigration inspections, will not be able to communicate with relief workers, or will be humiliated. Instead, they are turning to the community organizations they know for help.

The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium calls for continued donations to the Fire Fund managed by the Foundation for Change. The Fund is focused on vulnerable populations and makes grants every two weeks to the grassroots and community-based organizations that are getting these populations the supplies, services, and information they need. We anticipate that vulnerable communities will be in crisis survival mode for at least another two months.

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Post Election Challenges Remain in San Bernardino

A recent editorial in the SB Sun illustrates the challenges that remain in San Bernardino with an election just a few days ago that left the landscape of the city's elected officials unchanged. In their own response to the election results the Black Voice News adds their voice as well to call for a city council that can temper its often antagonistic tendencies in an effort to move forward for progress in San Bernardino.

Election Results follow...

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Leadership for Change: Clark, Tillman & Van Johnson

Tomorrow, 11/6, in the city of San Bernardino three individuals are seeking to keep the city moving towards an agenda of progressive leadership. These three leaders - Rachel Mendoza Clark, Carolyn Tillman, and Rikke Van Johnson - all share common values of community building, with attention focused on safety, modernization, and respectful governance.

San Bernardino faces a moment in which it can choose to turn towards an era of building cohesive leadership, an era that finds itself working in collaborative action instead of mired down in bitter battles, and an finally era of representation at the city level that where justice and accountability matter.

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