At the Regional meet-up in NC recently (What do you mean you're tired of hearing about it? Those of us who went are just getting started) there was a call by several speakers to that large group of us here on DKos that Mary Hooks from SONG called "white folks" to act.
It was pointed out that the problem of racism was started by white people and the problem needs to be fixed by white people.
Denise Oliver-Velez asked how many of us belonged to BlackKos and the NAACP. She reminded us that you don't have to be black to join.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about diversity on Daily Kos and how the site could be made more diverse and I don't have a good answer for adding people of color. I have a few ideas and they sort of led me back to thinking of "the base". The foundation.
The people here at Daily Kos are the foundation, so that's who I thought I would appeal to first.
I'm asking you all to join the BlackKos group:
Black Kos community group. This group publishes diaries that cover a broad range of topics including black history, the arts, politics, and the culture of peoples of African descent worldwide.
and the
LatinoKos group:
LatinoKos is a community for the discussion of Latino politics, history, and cultures here in the US, in Latin America and the Caribbean. There is no "singular" Latino/a community in the US. Latinos/Hispanics who are the nation's largest minority group, will according to census projections make up 29% of the U.S. population in 2050. As Democrats we need to focus more attention on these communities and the issues that affect them.
Just send them a message asking if you can join. You might also want to click on the heart at the top to "follow" the group. That way any diaries they wrote will be in your stream (easy to find). You can also republish the diaries to every other group you belong to.
So that's step one. Pretty simple.
So for step two I'd ask you to go to the 90for90 facbeook page here https://www.facebook.com/...
and just click "like". Still simple right? You've just added your support to a voter advocacy group that was started to honor Dr. Ferguson Reid Sr., the first Black man elected to the VA State Legislature, in either body, House or Senate, since the 1880s, known as "the Reconstruction Era".
If you own a business or are the head of a Daily Kos group you can join 90for90 as a supporter.
For business's all I can tell you is that when I joined mine was at the top of their facebook page for 20 hours. Great free advertising and I don't even sell anything. For those who run Daily Kos groups, they have a special category for us and it grows everyday. And you might have guessed this; Black Kos is one of the supporting groups.
Step three is a little harder but only a little. I'd like to ask you to support the Latino and Black candidates running for office in VA. VA has a chance of flipping their State Senate from Republican to Democratic and I'd love to see us help them do it.
Gordon20024 features a different candidate everyday, so click on his name to follow him and keep up with the exciting politics happening right now in VA. Republish his articles to any groups you belong to.
The following are all challengers in their races in VA. Click on their names to read Gordon 20024's pieces on them.
Latinos:
Hugo Reyes - if/when he wins he'll be the first Latino EVER elected to the VA Senate!
Joana Garcia
Blacks:
Mike Hamlar
Gary McCollum - he got swiftboated by the VA Republicans
Susan Hippen
Sheila Bynum-Coleman
There are more, just go to the 90for90 supporters group here.
All of these candidates are supporters of 90for90.
They all want more registered voters.
The next thing you can do is send a little love their way. Green love. Money can't solve all problems but it does help when you're running against millionaires or candidates backed by millionaires. If you have it, send them big bucks. If like me, you don't, send them $2. It all helps, it adds up.
A couple of back story articles here you might enjoy: http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/... Seems the demographics are shifting in VA and they aren't going to favor the Republicans. Voter registration is also way up in Democratic districts.
http://www.richmond.com/... - Tommy Norment, R- Majority Leader and Dick Saslaw, D(?)- minority leader, in office for 39 years held a "debate" in Hugo Reyes's district. Reyes is running against Norment. Make of that what you will.