News Category: Black America

Testimony to the Democratic National Committee

“My name is Michael Anthony Hardy. I am a United States Citizen; a lifelong Democrat; and General Counsel and Executive Vice President of the National Action Network. National Action Network is one of the nation’s foremost social justice organizations. I firmly believe that at this time in our nation’s history, the Democrat Party must stand for a strong Democracy.

I am submitting this video testimony to urge our convention to adopt a platform plank calling for full participation in the presidential primary process for all citizens regardless of race, gender or formal political affiliation. It’s time to once again place fundamental principles of popular sovereignty and full participation in our electoral process upfront in our platform if we are truly to be Democrats and if we truly want to fight to be a proud Democracy.

I was one of many who sat inside the U.S. Supreme Court on a brisk February morning in 2013 when the arguments were made in the Shelby County v. Holder regarding the Constitutionally of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. We all know the history of the struggle and the blood of Americans that soaked our soil to win the right to vote. We were shocked by the Court’s decision to strike down Section 4 of the VRA and thereby gut the power of Section 5’s pre-clearance requirements. We knew this was a dark day in our history and that it would lead to serious efforts to limit voting rights.

Seventeen states, as widely documented by the Brennan Center, will have voting restrictions in place for the first time in a Presidential election. They include: photo ID laws, early voting cutbacks and registration restrictions. These restrictions impact the very voters once protected by the VRA.

Additionally, for the first time, the inclusion of independent voters – now 41% of the electorate – in the presidential primary process has become a matter of broad public discussion. In some states, the primaries were open to independents, in others they were not. It is estimated that over 30 million Americans were denied the right to vote in the presidential primaries because they were independents.
What we are seeing is a broadening of the traditional voting rights agenda.

The modern Democratic Party has led the way in the fight for fair and equal access to the vote for all Americans and we must continue doing so. More is at stake in this election than who wins. The legitimacy of our government depends on acceptance by the people that the electoral system is fair, open and democratic. We will never break the partisan gridlock in Congress, until and unless every voter has a meaningful vote in the presidential election process.

I urge our convention to adopt a platform plank calling for full participation in the presidential primary process and for Congress to revive section 5 of the 1965 VRA.”

Democracy? So Why Can’t We Vote for Bernie Sanders?

We want to vote for Senator Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary taking place in New York on April 19, 2016. But we cannot.

New York State election laws violate our voting rights by not allowing us to do so. We are two of nearly one million Independent New York City voters and taxpayers who will be denied voting rights in this critical stage of the national election process. Let us introduce ourselves.

My name is Alvaader Frazier, a lifelong African-American community organizer and independent political leader living here in New York City. I was active in the civil rights movement in my youth. I worked in the history making 1988 Independent Presidential Fair Elections Campaign of Dr. Lenora B. Fulani. I worked hard in 2003 attempt to pass nonpartisan elections for the City of New York.

Since those times, voting rights have seen system wide setbacks, like the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This opened the door again for suppression of voter’s rights unseen in the USA since the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in nearly every state. New York’s continued use of closed primaries in every election is another leading form of voter suppression.

My name is David Belmont, a second-generation Jewish-American progressive activist. My father was an activist and union organizer, alongside Paul Robeson and others, in the 1950s. I was a marcher in the peace movement of the 1960s, and joined with Alvaader and others in the 1980s in fighting for the rights of independent voters. In 2005, I was a member of a multi-racial, left/right coalition that supported Mayor Michael Bloomberg. We won 47% of the African-American vote in that election and 65% of the independent vote.

Bernie Sanders’ call for addressing the widening economic inequality in our country resonates with me. However, I also cannot vote for Sanders in the primary. My voice, along with 2.5 million other independents, will not be heard in New York State’s closed presidential primary. We are locked out.

Senator Sanders is leading a campaign for a Political Revolution. Citizen voters should not have to join a political party to vote; and taxpaying citizen voters should not have to pay for elections that we cannot vote in. We join every New Yorker (Democrats and otherwise) supporting Senator Sanders’s campaign for Political Revolution. Independents are on the front lines for him. He needs to include independents in his Political Revolution. Tell the leaders of the parties here in New York to let us vote too!

Senator Sanders, Independent turned Democrat, has the courage of his convictions to challenge the almighty Democratic Party Clinton machine. We salute and raise him up for giving Hillary Clinton a hard fought primary.

If you or someone you know are supporting and feeling the Bern for Senator Sanders, join forces with us. We should get together and talk together regarding how we can further Bernie’s Political Revolution!

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15th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards Honors Activists

Richard Kirkpatrick of Harlem was honored at the 15th annual Anti-Corruption Awards sponsored by the New York City Independence Party. Presenting him with the Nicholas S. Johnson Independent Spirit Award was Alvaader Frazier, who met Richard at one of Dr. Lenora Fulani’s Independence Party meetings at the Harlem Y in 2005.

Other awardees included Tiani Coleman, an attorney, mother of five and president of New Hampshire Independent Voters, who was honored with an Anti-Corruption Award at the Independence Party’s annual fundraiser.

A gathering of 120 supporters attended the annual fundraiser, where the honorees and speakers included (L to R) Kirkpatrick, Jim Morrison, Coleman, Jackie Salit, Fulani, Alvaader Frazier, Juliana Francisco, Cathy Stewart and Harriet Hoffman.

The annual fundraiser was held Sept. 24 at the Gran Morsi restaurant in Manhattan.

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Protests Planned in Philly Over Exclusion of independents

Protesters will be picketing some Philadelphia-area polling places next month. Independent voters are irritated because they’re prevented from casting ballots in the primary election.

A million voters not affiliated with a party are disenfranchised because Pennsylvania holds “closed primaries” open only to registered Democrats or Republicans, said Jennifer Bullock, director of the group Independent Pennsylvanians.

“There are more and more states that are either opening up their primaries or dismantling primaries altogether in favor of a top-two system that California and Washington State have,” she said. “And and we want to be one of the states that joins that list.”

Bullock said it’s not fair to make the public pay for an election that benefits only two political parties.

“The primaries are a kind of an obvious classic holdover of this concept that, really, our election system is really for and by the two parties,” she said. “Which it’s not, because if it was a private organization process, then the private organization should pay for it.”

The group plans multiple protests on May 20, calling for changes to the primary system.

Registered Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania will choose nominees for governor as well as candidates for other offices.

The one area where independents can participate is when there are questions on the ballot or a special election being held at the same time. In Philadelphia, there is a special contest to fill an at-large City Council seat. Voters of all stripes can cast ballots in that, even though the election is being held on May 20 as well.

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Interviews by a Black Independent

Music legend Roy Ayers was a guest at Dr. Lenora Fulani’s “Interviews by a Black Independent” at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building on Thursday, Dec. 13. Fulani and Ayers held a wide-ranging discussion that included his accomplished career, the history of jazz and hip-hop and the necessity of the arts in education. The interview included lively participation by the audience of over 100 people. “Interviews by a Black Independent” is a forum for new conversations with people of achievement and leadership who are making a difference. The event is free and open to the public.

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New York City Independence Party Holds Spring Gala

The New York City Independence Party held its 15th annual Spring Chair Reception at the Tribeca Grill on Thursday, May 16 in Lower Manhattan. The party’s independent mayoral candidate, Adolfo Carrion, who will be on the ballot in November, addressed the gathering of more than 100 members and activists. L to R: Edith Bargoma; strategist Jackie Salit; mayoral candidate Adolfo Carrion; citywide coordinator Cathy L. Stewart; party founder Dr. Lenora Fulani; and Josephine Coskie

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Fulani Espouses the Mantra of ‘Two Good Choices’

Tuesday at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem, Dr. Lenora Fulani held a news conference to recommend what she felt were the two best choices for New York State governor. Recommending Freedom Party Candidate Charles Barron and Andrew Cuomo, who is also running on the Independent ticket as well as Democrat, Fulani felt that these two candidates would advance independent politics and “Black empowerment.”

As a founder of the Independence Party of New York, Fulani has promoted the political entity’s causes for two-plus decades. Looking for another option for politically minded Black folks, Fulani believes that the key to challenging the current two-party dominance is investing in independence. “It is a vehicle to challenge the partisan and corrupt self-interests of the state’s Democratic and Republican parties and bring reform to our judicial system, which is so desperately needed,” said Fulani.

While Barron and Fulani have been at odds with each other in the past, Fulani believes that Barron’s mission is a noble one. “Heaven knows, New York State needs as many independent voices to speak out for poor people and disenfranchised people as we can get,” she said. “So I welcome Charles Barron’s entry into independent politics and his bid to create the Freedom Party.”

Fulani also pontificated on the stronghold that the Democratic Party has on Black voters. It’s the main reason why she advocates for something outside of the major two-party system.

“The proposition that Black people can exercise political independence and wield greater power as a result has been resisted strongly by many in the political establishment, particularly in the Democratic Party establishment, and even within the Independence Party itself,” said Fulani. “The State Independence Party leadership believed so strongly that Black people had no place in independent politics that they tried to throw all of us out. We successfully blocked those efforts and the New York City Independence Party, which is now, in effect, autonomous from the state party, has continued to grow in size and strength, including in the Black community.”

According to Fulani, of the close to 800,000 non-aligned independents in New York City, 20 percent are African-American. In the United States, 30 percent of African-Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 consider themselves independent.

“I have long been convinced that the American people–Black, Latino, Asian, white–if given the chance, will make better choices,” said Fulani. “We have two good choices this year to make it happen.”

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