Our Values, Our Voices, Our Vote Newsletter

Welcome to the Our Values, Our Voices, Our Vote Newsletter, the Democratic National Committee's African American newsletter. On a regular basis, the Our Values, Our Voices, Our Vote Newsletter will bring you updates on issues of concern to the African American community, as well as reports on programs at the Democratic National Committee. In our inaugural edition, we feature recent action by the U.S. House of Representations on the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Voting Rights Update:

On July 14, 2006, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 390 to 33, agreed to reauthorize key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). Although much of this landmark law is permanent, several sections require periodic renewal. The Senate followed suit on Thursday, July 20th, voting 98-0 in favor of renewal. This, following a massive voting rights lobbying day on Capital Hill. The vote capped several months of intense lobbying by the Party, Civil Rights groups, labor unions, and Democratic Party leaders.

Reacting to the ultimate victory in the House, DNC Voting Rights Institute Executive Director Greg Moore said, "We applaud those Republicans who stood firm and supported the VRA despite the attempts by many of their reactionary Republicans colleagues, who wanted to push Voting Rights Act renewal to the Back of the Bus." But, Moore noted, "At the same time we celebrate this victory, some of the Republicans who have supported the VRA are elevating a draconian measure that would impose a restrictive national Photo ID requirement bill (HR 4484) that will strip away the voting rights of millions of Americans this fall."

Achieving bi-partisan consensus to renew the VRA was not as easy as the lopsided vote suggests. Along the way, the measure stalled when House Republican leaders bent to the will of a group of ultra-conservative Republican opponents of the bill and pulled the measure from the floor. These opponents wanted to amend the law to end requirements for Justice Department pre-clearance of election law changes in states and districts with histories of voter disenfranchisement and for the provision of language assistance (bi-lingual ballots) in areas with large populations of voters with limited English proficiency. Allowing this band of ultra- conservatives to hijack VRA legislative consideration in this manner unnecessarily delayed final House consideration and passage of this important measure. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement: "Today's vote reaffirms our nation's long-term commitment to ensuring that every American has the right to vote and have that vote counted. This is a fundamental right and one of the principles that make our country great. I am grateful for the hard work of Democrats who labored to make sure that this historic and vital legislation was reauthorized despite earlier efforts by House Republicans to delay the vote and water down the bill.

"This historic moment is also an opportunity for President Bush and Republicans in Congress to make it clear that they are truly committed to protecting the fundamental right to vote and have that vote counted by putting an end to discriminatory voter ID laws, stopping the movement in his party to improperly purge voter lists, and joining Democrats in calling for the use of voting machines that leave verifiable audit trails."

On July 27, 2006, the civil right community declared victory when President George W. Bush, Jr. signed the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. The DNC Voting Rights Institute will continue to work with the civil rights community, the Senate Democratic Leadership, the Congressional Black Caucus, the labor movement, and our community allies to enforce this legislation and defeat other deterrents to our citizens' fundamental voting rights. And at the same time we remain committed to the VRA reauthorization, we will continue to fight against HR 4484 and other Republican-led efforts at the state and federal level to dilute the vote of African Americans, Hispanic and other people of color.

Out and About:

Two weeks ago, the College Democrats of America (CDA) met in St. Louis, Missouri, for its National Convention. CDA is the official college arm of the Democratic National Committee. Approximately 650 college and young Democrats from around the nation converged on the campus of St. Louis University for the convention, the first to be held outside of Washington, D.C. Over a three-day period, these young leaders participated in training, retreats and workshops, hearing from nationally and locally prominent Democratic leaders (with DNC Chairman Governor Howard Dean kicking off the event in a Thursday roundtable and speech), strategizing about the role college Democrats can play in the upcoming elections and beyond, electing their own national chair and vice chair, and -- in their spare time -- meet, network, and have fun. For more information about the College Democrats of America please go to http://www.collegedems.com.

Save the Date:

• DNC Summer Meeting to be held August 18th and 19th in Chicago, IL. Important matters for final consideration at this meeting include the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential primary and caucus schedule.
• 2006 African American Leadership Summit: The DNC Black Caucus is pleased to announce the upcoming September 22-24th, 2006 summit to be held in Detroit, Michigan. More information on this exciting summit will be posted soon on the DNC website ( http://www.democrats.org/events/ africanamericanleadershipsummit ), or call Simone Ward at (202) 863-8150.

In the News:

• The first-ever Democratic Reunion, was held on July 29, 2006, launching "100 days, 100 Voters, 100 Actions" leading up to the November elections. Organizers and activists planned over 800 events across the country, where volunteers gathered together and committed to reach out to 100 voters in their communities, to educate them about the issues in the fall elections and urge them to vote -- and elect Democrats. For more information or to find out how you can be involved, please contact your state Democratic party or visit our website at http://www.democrats.org/thedemocraticreunion.
• Republicans Offer No Relief As Student Loan Interest Rates Skyrocket: On July 1, 2006, students and parents who take out new loans to pay for college became subject to considerably higher interest rates. The interest rate hike comes on the heels of Washington Republicans callously passing the largest cut to student aid in history. Washington Republicans have slashed $12 billion from student aid programs, not for deficit reduction as they have claimed, but to finance additional tax cuts for special interests and the wealthy, leaving trillions of dollars of debt for future generations to pay off.
  
  

  Democrats have an alternative plan that eases the burden on America's working families by cutting up to $ 5,600 in interest costs on loans while fully funding student aid programs like the Pell Grant and Perkins Loans.

• Republicans in Congress give themselves a raise but block Democratic attempts to raise the minimum wage for the nation's lowest paid workers: Last week, Democratic lawmakers stood up for the rights of millions of Americans and demanded that Congress review the important issue of raising the minimum wage before giving Senators yet another raise. The last minimum wage increase was passed in 1996, when Bill Clinton was president. Since then, the value of the minimum wage has declined substantially, and in fact, is worth less today than at any time in the last 50 years! Guaranteeing a decent minimum wage is a matter of simple justice -- and a basic family value. Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour by 2008, as Senator Kennedy has proposed, would benefit almost 15 million workers. And among those helped, African Americans would disproportionately benefit: That's because African Americans account for a larger share of workers who would benefit from an increase (16 percent) than their representation in the workforce overall (11 percent). Yet, despite the importance of this basic wage standard for so many workers and their families, time and again, Congressional Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to pass an increase. Democrats aren(?-xism:')t planning to give up the fight, though, so stay tuned -- we'll report more on the minimum wage next month, as we approach the 10th anniversary of the date (August 20, 1996) President Clinton signed the last increase.

Candidate Profile

Our Values, Our Voices, Our Vote Newsletter will profile a candidate profile each month to ensure continued communication about Democrat African American leaders across the country. This month, Our Values, Our Voices, Our Vote Newsletter is pleased to introduce the Honorable Barbara Sykes, (OH) for State Auditor. Ohio is an important state where we need strong leadership. State Representative Sykes has long history of fighting for the rights of Ohioans and is running for office with a commitment to the African American community. Barbara Sykes brings over 25 years of experience to the office of State Auditor. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the Akron City Council. She served 12 years as the Deputy Auditor of Administration for Summit County. She is currently serving her third term in the Ohio House of Representatives, where she has also served as President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus since 2003. The Democratic National Committee is proud of her tenure in the Ohio Legislature and looks forward to her statewide election in November. For more information about Representative Sykes please go to www.sykesforauditor.com

Some Closing Notes:

The Democratic National Committee engages the African American community through its traditional programs as well as through the American Majority Partnership (AMP), the DNC's new program of issue-focused, constituency-based outreach. Working with other DNC departments, AMP undertakes strategic issue-based research and analysis on matters of concern to Democratic communities, and engages voters in discussions of these issues through roundtables, issues forums, and national summits. In the last six months, the American Majority Partnership has organized roundtable discussions on African American issues in AZ, CA, CO, GA, IL, LA, MO, NC, NY NV, OH, and TN. We look forward to organizing more of these discussions around the country as we move closer to the midterm elections.

Another new DNC initiative launched by Chairman Dean and DNC Chief of Staff, the Reverend Leah Daughtry, is our Faith in Action program. That program is borne of the recognition that for many people of faith, being a Democrat -- and subscribing to the party's historic commitment to social and economic justice -- is a logical extension of the lessons we learn in our churches, our mosques, and our temples, and reflects our belief that Democrats should never shy away from embracing our spiritual values. The American Majority Partnership works closely with the Faith in Action program to nurture relationships with people of faith -- including clergy and congregants -- around the nation. This work is an important avenue through which we engage the African American community, with its strong and rich spiritual and religious tradition.

The DNC also reaches out to the community with coverage in African American media outlets and through specialty press ads, articles, and radio interviews about matters of concern to the community. In addition, the AMP works with our Communications Department to identify and develop surrogates from the community, who speak with eloquence about the issues affecting African Americans. These surrogates are drawn from the ranks of state and local elected officials, legislative black caucuses, Democratic State Parties, and activists and community organizations.

As the 2006 election cycle unfolds, we look forward to working with you to build on these initiatives and develop additional innovative strategies to engage and support the African American community.

We also encourage you to become involved in the upcoming elections and help us elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November. The outcome of this year's federal, state and local races could determine a host of matters that are critically important to the nation and to African Americans. From a plan for Iraq and a real plan for homeland security, to creating jobs that stay in America, increasing financial assistance for college students, improving health care access and strengthening retirement security, Democrats offer a New Direction for America -- that will turn away from the culture of corruption and special interest rule that characterizes our government today, and that takes this country back for the people who built it. For more information about how you can become involved in this effort, or to share your thoughts and suggestions with us, contact Simone Ward, Deputy Director of the American Majority Partnership, at wards@dnc.org.