A CONVERSATION WITH
DEEPAK BHARGAVA
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE
October 1, 2010An intimate group of progressive activists gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts to “confront the disappointments of the Obama era, during which a troubling sense of malaise and despair had crept into some parts of the progressive movement,” according to Deepak Bhargava, who led the discussion. Organized by the Jobin-Leeds Partnership for Democracy & Education and the Center for Community Change, that conversation was electrifying, sobering, animated and inspiring. It left many motivated to seek deeper involvement in advancing the work of the progressive movement.
ABOUT DEEPAK BHARGHAVA’S WORK
The Center for Community Change was founded more than 40 years ago in tribute to Robert F. Kennedy. It’s mission: to build the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to change their communities and public policies for the better. Under Deepak’s leadership since 2002, the Center has sharpened the its focus on grassroots community organizing as the central strategy for social justice and on public policy change as the key lever to improve poor people's lives. He conceived and led the Center's work on immigration reform, which has resulted in the creation of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a leading grassroots network pressing for changes in the country's immigration laws. Deepak spearheaded the creation of innovative new projects like Generation Change, a program that recruits, trains and places the next generation of community organizers, and the Community Voting Project, which brings large numbers of low-income voters into the electoral process. He has also overseen a dramatic internal transformation of the organization over the past years, resulting in a younger, more diverse board and staff, a new physical home, and greater focus of the organization's work on strengthening and aligning community organizations towards policy change.
A PROGRESSIVE ASSESSMENT OF
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S
FIRST 100 DAYS
MAY 2, 2009
Please click here to see a full description of the panelists remarks. To see event video, click here.
National leaders gathered with activists from Massachusetts at Suffolk University on Saturday, May 2, 2009 to assess President Obama's first one hundred days of leadership, his Administration’s accomplishments and what are opportunities for progressive systemic change.
The panel discussion was organized by the Jobin-Leeds Partnership for Democracy & Education and Suffolk University School of Government and included panelists:
Professor Teri Fair
Suffolk University, School of GovernmentThe Honorable Barbara Lee
U.S. House of RepresentativesBob Borosage
Campaign for America's FuturePage Gardner
Women's Voices, Women Vote
CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE — View Video
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the agendas of the Progressive Caucus — "Progressive Promise"- and CBC are very similar and call for changes "that every American should be proud of and every American should embrace whether they are progressive because it speaks to the core values of our country”, according to Lee.
Regarding the Obama Administration, Congresswoman Lee gave the President "an A or an A+ for the first 100 days." She cited Obama's pledge to end torture and close Guantanamo, signed the Lily Ledbetter Act for equal pay for women, extended the children's health care program, ended the "global gag rule" on abortion counseling and international family planning funding, allowed federal funds for stem cell research, lifted restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency imposed by the Bush Administration, and targeted funds in the economic recovery act to distressed communities facing high rates of foreclosure.
PAGE GARDNER: WOMEN’S VOICES, WOMEN VOTE — View Video
Page Gardner, President of Women’s Voices, Women Vote defined the "rising American electorate" and outlined its importance to President Obama’s election, the progressive agenda, and the 2010 mid-term elections.
Obama's presidency is "like no other." The President "hit the ground running" with a “bold agenda and many promises." She said his presidency is "about remaking America" and "rebuilding the social infrastructure, repairing the environment, preventing discrimination in the workplace and doing the smart thing about heath care." She encouraged the audience to "remember those Members of Congress who refuse to reach out to help this president rebuild America, those very same Congress people who were so eager to help the last [Bush] Administration. They should be ashamed of themselves and, in a very nonpartisan way we should get rid of them." She cautioned that progressives have their work cut out for them because after 100 days of President Obama's leadership and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, only 1 out four new voters (27%) indicated they would likely not vote, compared with 23% of other voters.
ROBERT BOROSAGE: CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE — View Video
Bob Borosage, Co-Director of Campaign for America's Future
"[President] Obama has done much more than most people expected in the first 100 days. The Recovery Plan made the greatest contribution to poverty spending since the Great Society,” said Borosage. “It’s an extraordinary thing. He doubled the education budget at the national level. Tripled the energy budget, and made significant investments in infrastructure.” When President
Obama put together his first budget, “they took on just about every entrenched interest in Washington from agribusiness to the military industrial complex, to the private student lending industry.” He’s leading a transformation of our foreign policy, at least by gesture, and he’s created a sense of optimism and pride in America. People like the fact that we elected this man to be president, and we like the fact that he represents us in the world,” Borosage said. Borosage argued that “while we have an extraordinary leader as president, he will need powerful independent progressive movements to go out and make him do what needs to be done."
For the next hour, the panelists and audience engaged in a lively discussion.
Please click here to see a full description of the panelists remarks. To see event video, click here.
Congresswoman Lee speaks with emerging leaders of color prior to the panel.
Maria Jobin-Leeds, Congresswoman Lee, Myron Miller, Professor Teri Fair, & Joel Barrera
Caprice Mendez — Emerge MA, Congresswoman Lee, & Alejandra St. Gullien — ¿Oisté?
Jeffrey Thomas, Remona Davis, Michael Fogelberg of the Partnership, Congresswoman Lee, Page Gardner — Women’s Voice, Women Vote, Bob Borosage — Campaign for America’s Future, and Maria Jobin-Leeds of the Partnership
