Do What You Do….
One of the highest grossing movies of the holiday season was Will Smith’s Pursuit of Happyness where he portrayed multi-millionaire Chris Gardener who asked the famous questions, “What do you do? and How do you do it?” . When I think of that statement I am reminded of what people often ask me when referencing B L A C K D E M S.
As we enter the new political season B L A C K D E M S decided to take what we do to another level. As we continue to educate, energize, and empower we feel it is important to inform people on the policy issues that will face them in 2007 on the federal, state, and local levels. B L A C K D E M S has grown through much adversity to become a voice seeking to empower the grass roots individuals of our community. Often this mission is frowned upon because our organization has sought to provide everyday people with the opportunity to play a role in the way their elected officials were elected and ultimately invite others to do the same. For a long time the politics of the African American community has been controlled by a bourgeoisie that often masks their personal agenda behind the idea of what is “best” for the community. Unfortunately, the community does not get much input into what is really best for them. In the coming months we seek to better educate the masses on what impact specific policies will have on their everyday lives so they can have an instrument to be better heard.
As we celebrate Black History Month we are thankful for the contributions and progress African Americans have made in this country. However, we understand there is still much to be done to insure this progress in not rolled back. We trust that our elected officials will continue to uphold the values of our community and those things that have sustained us over the years. However if those values are not upheld we are here to make sure those most affected know about it. B L A C K D E M S will soon unveil our policy priorities for the next year covering a range of issues from HIV/AIDS to Education issues on every level of our government. We welcome the input of those that are well versed in the issues, as well as those that are often forgotten. Many will review this agenda with the usual criticism that this agenda will only be designed to benefit those that are members of B L A C K D E M S. To those critics I simply say, “You’re Right”. Luckily, that also includes YOU!! Come let your voice be heard! Come learn what we do and be apart of how we do it.