(UPDATE!: Shelia Smoot is here! Ask her questions in the comments below)
I was surprised to learn that an African American woman has NEVER been elected to a full term to represent the state of Alabama in the House of Representatives.
My goal today is to help change that.
When last I wrote about one of my heroes, Rosa Parks, it was to illustrate how the right would roll back the Civil Rights act to allow discrimination in the name of economic freedom.
145 years after the Civil War, much has changed, but more should change, until we truly achieve the Change We Can Believe In!.
In 2010, it is finally time to elect an African American woman to a full term in Congress to serve the State of Alabama in the House of Representatives!
More below the fold
(Portions of this diary were originally published on Apr 12, 2010)
Help honor our hero Rosa Parks by carrying on her dream and supporting Shelia Smoot for Congress.
90 years after the end of the Civil War, Rosa Parks was arrested in Alabama for refusing to give her seat on a bus up to a white passenger who demanded it.
According to 2008 census numbers, African Americans make up 26.4%of Alabama's population, and yet never in Alabama's history has an African American woman served a full term in the House of Representatives.
Now, 145 years after the end of the Civil War, Alabama has still never had an African American woman serve a full term as a Representative of Alabama in the U.S. Congress.
This year, Shelia Smoot is giving Alabama it's first chance to achieve just that.
Shelia Smoot is a Jefferson County Commissioner, a consumer advocate, a radio talk show host, a businesswoman and most importantly the mother of a teenage daughter.
Shelia Smoot, a former award-winning investigative journalist, is an elected member of the Jefferson County Commissioner. Commissioner Smoot is the first African American female to ever sit on the Jefferson County Commission and the youngest person to ever serve on the Commission.
sheliasmoot.us
My good friends at The Progressive Electorate.com have been posting about Shelia for a while now, and yesterday a diary about Shelia Smoot was on the RecList for several hours here at DailyKos. Let's honor the legacy of Rosa Parks by supporting Shelia Smoot for Congress!
Tired of Southern Conservative wingnuts who gloss over slavery, bust unions and worship at the alter of Beck/Limbaugh? If so, here is the woman who will redefine what being a Democrat from will mean, but only if you can send her to Congress this November.
As soon as you speak to Shelia you can tell that she will be a force as a Progressive voice from the deep south. Her media experience has given her an ease in communicating ideas that will help Alabama and America, but that isn't the end of Shelia's qualifications, it is only the beginning.
Shelia Smoot has helped constituents in her district to organize unions and fight for better wages and benefits. She has deflected attacks from her Democratic challengers, and she is currently leading in the polls.
Alabama Congressional District 7 is an open seat being vacated by Artur Davis who is running for Governor. The District is heavily democratic, African-American, and overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama with over 70% in 2008.
Published with permission of the Smoot Campaign
Primaries in AL-07 are in June and Shelia's opponents are running tons of advertisements in the local media, but what Shelia may lack in campaign funding she clearly makes up in substance. AL-07 is a strong Democratic district in a very Red State where the primary will be more competitive than the general election. If you are serious about MORE and BETTER Democrats you really couldn't do any better than supporting Shelia Smoot for Congress. Further, if we ever hope to send a Democrat to the Senate from Alabama, the best thing we could do is to send Shelia to Congress and hope for her political career to really take off from there.
Among Shelia Smoot's policy positions, she is strongly pro choice, pro EFCA, pro immigration reform, pro consumer and a staunch advocate for the Democratic platform. In my humble opinion Shelia Smoot embodies what the next generation of Southern Democrats should be, unabashedly populist, involved in their communities on a grassroots level, and in touch with their constituents on the issues they face every day in real life situations.
Do we really want MORE and BETTER Democrats? If so, let's support Shelia Smoot and help bring the deep south into the 21st Century
Support Shelia Smoot at ActBlue
Support Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy with PeanutButterPAC.
If we are serious about MORE and specifically BETTER Democrats we need your help to make that happen, so take some action and join PeanutButterPAC!
Here's to fighting for the cause that endures, just like Rosa Parks did and like Shelia Smoot will.
Follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca
Let's give it up for Sweet Home Alabama and Shelia Smoot!
Cheers
I work for PeanutButterPAC! If you like my articles and want to support Progressive primary and general election candidates like Shelia Smoot, who is in our candidate pool, join PeanutButterPAC, the PAC that fights back!
Vote for me to get a DFA Netroots Nation scholarship!
You can follow me on Twitter at @JesseLaGreca
Crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com and ePluribusMedia.com