DNC Chair Speaks During Black History Month
Howard Dean Talks About Role of Democratic Party in Fight for Social Justice and Equality
As Black History Month winds down,
Howard Dean told Georgetown students that the Democratic Party is the only party that embodies the equality and the social justice that many fought for during the civil rights movement.
Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, spoke Feb. 26 as part of the university’s celebration of Black History Month that was sponsored by the
student chapter of the NAACP, the
College Democrats and several other campus departments and student organizations.
“The Democratic Party is the party that is dedicated to Dr. King’s dream of equality and justice for everybody in America,” Dean said referring to the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. “The Democratic Party continues to be at the forefront of ensuring social and economic justice for all Americans. And in this election year, we will make history by electing either the first African-American or the first woman as president of the United States.”
Georgetown students should see a representation of America when looking at the current and former 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, he continued by noting that the ranks included black, white and Hispanic candidates.
Those gains are important, said second-year student
Brian Cook (C’10). In introductory remarks, he highlighted the progress the black population has made in securing equal treatment. Black history, Cook said, is American history, and no citizen should forget that certain rights were paid for with lives.
“Throughout black history, each generation has had to re-imagine the struggle for social justice, reacquainting themselves with some of the old and adapting to some of the new challenges that come forth,” he said.
African-American politicians have made inroads, Cook said. In 1970, there were fewer than 1,500 elected black officials nationwide. Fast forward to the 21st century and the number has exceeded 9,000, Cook said during his introductory speech while citing numbers from the Joint Centers for Political and Economic Studies. About 16 million black people are on the voter rolls.
African-Americans have long been key to the success of Democrats in elections, Dean said. But the party is prepared to change its strategy in coming years because leaders believe racial distinctions are becoming less important to voters.
“The younger generation sees themselves as a unified, multicultural generation. That does not mean that racism is dead in America or that race doesn’t matter,” Dean said. “What it does mean is that young people have assimilated all the gains of the civil rights movement, and they expect that they’re going to be treated the way everyone else is treated.”
As Democratic chairman, Dean said the party is committed to bringing together historically underrepresented groups in the party, such as evangelical Christians. Younger evangelical Christian voters, he explained, care about the Democrats’ platform – alleviating poverty, curbing global warming and ending the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
Part of the Democratic strategy will be to embrace younger voters, regardless of their ties to the party, he said.
“Change is coming, and it’s a good thing,” he said. “There is a generational change coming in this country, and it reaches every single group, whether it’s an ethnic group or an age group.”
