- Originally published in Essence, August, 2004
Copyright 2004 Essence Communications, Inc.
Donna Brazile
INTERVIEWED BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX, PH.D.
If it's true that past is prologue, then Washington, D.C., should have
been prepared for Donna Brazile. At 9 years old, she helped elect a
mayor in Kenner, Louisiana, who said he'd build a playground in her
neighborhood; she hasn't gotten off the political train since. This
44-year-old sister made history as the first African-American woman to
manage a presidential campaign, when she ran Al Gore's in 2000. Today
she heads the Democratic Party's Voting Rights Institute; has started
her own political-consulting firm, Brazile & Associates; and has
written a memoir, Cooking With Grease: Stirring the Pots in American
Politics (Simon & Schuster).
I think Black women should really force the candidates to come into our
communities and hold debates, forums and town-hall meetings, and speak
to our key areas of concern: the economy, education and health care.
Since Bush has been in office, African-American women have fallen
behind in terms of income and wages. The numbers of us who are entering
college and the numbers of us who have health insurance have also
declined. Candidates need to address us directly about these issues,
and they need to do it in our neighborhoods. But the presidential
election isn't the only one occurring this year. There are other races
we should be concerned with, including 34 senatorial, 435 congressional
and 11 gubernatorial races in states where Black women -- if we decide
to get involved -- can make the difference.
In order to beat George Bush, the Democratic Party not only has to
reach out to the base, but it also has to enlarge it. The party needs
to reengage nonvoters. And we can't just focus on the traditional
battleground states. We must find some states in the South where
African-Americans can help put Democrats over the top, like Tennessee
and Arkansas.
Even when the stakes are high, we tend not to vote because we feel
disconnected and disinherited. People believe they have no input, and
they think politics doesn't matter in their lives.
Politics should become as accessible to everyone as going to church,
going to work, going to the bowling alley. Civic education and civic
responsibility should be taught in elementary school. We should have
information everywhere that people gather. I'm working with Exxon and a
number of other companies to try to get them to put a little note
saying, Are you registered to vote? at every gas station. We're trying
to encourage Safeway and all the grocery stores to do something
similar, so that when people walk into a supermarket or buy gas, they
can find out how to get registered and how to get involved.
As Al Gore's campaign manager, I helped bring people who had never been
involved in politics into the electoral process. I made a decision to
put Blacks and Latinos in key positions of power in every state: New
York, Michigan and Florida all had Black state directors. We would not
have been close in those states had we not known people who could go
out and meet voters where they live, play and pray.
If I had to sum up my message on a bumper sticker, it would say, Respect the vote. Respect the right of every American to vote.