We weren't a battleground state, but we're a state of warriors ready for battle...scratch that, a state of community organizers ready to organize. I didn't take a head count but I would be reasonable/fair in saying 400 people showed up on a rainy Saturday morning in Downtown Los Angeles to brainstorm how to keep the movement moving. Needless to say, Californians are ready to continue working towards change.
Change is Coming to California - 400+ Listening to Obama for America California Field Director Mary Jane Stevenson
Possibly the most perfect antidote to an Obama volunteer going through campaign withdrawals, hundreds of volunteers and previous staff members came together to learn, discuss, and organize. Keeping with the California congressional district structure, attendees sat at table with fellow members who shared the same elected representatives (who will be hearing from us soon ;)). It was a practical beginning, sitting with our neighbors; like President-Elect Obama frequently stated: block by block, city by city, state by state, we will change this country.
What made me feel most inspired was that I, a 25 year old, was the youngest person at my table. For two years we've heard about how Obama has inspired the young and hopeful, but this morning I witnessed people who have seen far more in their lifetimes who possibly feel the historic context of this election to a greater extent than I possibly can. It gave me the promise of inter-generational coalition building, that progressive no-longer means college-age liberal, but progressive means: I see a wrong, and I want to make it right, no matter what my background.
We heard stories from California State Field Director Mary Jane Stevenson, Western Region Field Director Matt Rodriguez, LA Community Organizer Solomon Rivera, and LGBT Activist Torie Osborn. Then we were called to act by a man named Bruce Rosen, involved with the Los Angeles Food Bank community...each congressional district left the event with a plan to collect food for the hungry within the next week.
Quite possibly the most important part of the day, albeit cut short due to time constraints, was the introduction to our neigbhors. Meeting, other individuals, who even if not like-minded, like-age, like-socio-economic status, like-gender, like-race, like-religion felt compelled to wake up, far too early on a rainy Saturday morning, to go meet and hear from others who feel that November 4th was the first victory of a movement that for years will follow.
Three and a half hours in a college cafeteria obviously was not enough time. But, the organizers launched CommunityOrganize.com a website that will enable us to communicate with each other, much in the like of other social networking sites, however with a community organizing focus, particularly within in our CD groups, to keep the ball moving with our neighbors.
It was a simple introduction to what will be what we in California make it. As President-Elect Obama states frequently via Gandhi: we are the ones we've been waiting for. It'll be up to us to see how much we answer our own call to create a new America.
Yes We Can, continue on the road to change.
Learning how connected we really are. Each district had a ball of yarn that traveled to other attendees that they knew in other districts to show the power of our network in the room.