% 2 0 /O
January 13, 2010
M artin L uther K ing J r .
Page 45
s p e c ia l eoi!io n
Community Organizers o f Distinction
continued
from page 43
can change history.
Many candidates had focused
solely on the existing electorate
and how they could best market
themselves to it. But not Obama,
who worked to expand the elec
torate by creating an army of
grassroots volunteers who reg
istered new voters, many of them
young or minorities, in droves.
Accomplishing this Herculean
task used new media, which al
lowed Obama to strengthen con
nections with his supporters and
create new ones.
Shortly after he was elected,
the Guardian's website posted a
blog entry entitled "The first elec
tion the Internet won."
In 2 0 0 4 , V erm o’nt G ov.
H ow ard D ean's presidential
campaign used some of the same
Internet tools to quickly pick up
steam, before fizzling out.
Obama enlisted Chris Hughes,
the founder of the highly popular
s o c ia l-n e tw o rk in g
site
Facebook,
to
c re a te
m y.barackobam a.com .
The website allowed users to
create profiles, and helped con
nect them to local events, get
training in community organiz
ing, and talk to each other. The
platform allowed Obama to effi
ciently reach his most fervent
supporters, and create new ones,
while raising gobs of money that
helped him clobber GOP candi
date John McCain in the general
Civil Rights Era Leaders:
continued
election.
The Pew Internet & Ameri
can Life Project released a re
port shortly after Obama took
office that showed that most 55
p erce n t o f ad u lts used the
Internet for political information,
and that Obama used this new
tool to communicate with voters
and help supporters organize.
During the campaign, Obama
had to ward off constant smears
concerning his religious back
ground, his work as a state sena-
tor in the Illinois General As
sembly, and ties to controversial
people.
Instead of relying on tradi
tional media to fact check such
rickety claims, Obama was able
to directly reach people through
his website and the You Tube.
O bam a ate C lin to n and
McCain's lunches in both the
primary and general elections,
respectively. He won states that
were thought to be out of reach
for a Democratic presidential
candidate, including Indiana,
North Carolina, and Virginia-
which once housed the capital of
the confederacy.
But he also changed the way
political campaigns are run, and
brought in legions of people who
might not have ever been in
volved in politics.
B oth K ing and O b am a
changed the course of nation
with a grass roots approach to
com m unity organizing. W ho
know where it will lead next?
Saluting Martin Luther King Jr.
zAfid-f^Beauty$upply
from page 36
Harvey Milk (1930-1978): politician, gay rights activist
R ob erf'B ob ” Moses (1935-): leader, activist, and organizer
Diane Nash (1938-): SNCC and SCLC activist and organizer
James Orange (1942-2008): SCLC activist and organizer, trade
unionist
Rosa Parks (1913-2005): NAACP official, activist
Alice Paul (1885-1977): women's suffrage/voting rights leader
A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979): socialist, labor leader
Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911-): voting rights activist
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987): civil rights activist
Bobby Seale (1936-): activist, Black Panther leader
AI Sharpton (1954-): clergyman, activist
Charles Sherrod (1937-): Civil rights activist, SNCC leader
F red Shuttlesworth (1922-): clergyman, activist
(ilbria Steinem (1934-): writer, activist, feminist
TWO LOCATIONS
C.T. Vivian (1924-): student leader, SNCC activist
Wyatt Tee W alker (1960-1964): clergyman, activist; NAACP
and CORE in Virginia, Executive Director, SCLC
Ida B. Wells (1862-1931): journalist, women's suffrage/voting
rights activist
3311 NE MLK Jr. Blvd
Portland OR 97212
503-206-3911
W alter Francis W hite (1895-1955): NAACP executive secre
tary
Mon-Fri 9am-7pm • Sunday 1 lam-5pm
Roy W ilkins (1901-1981): NAACP executive secretary/ex-
ecutive director
5411 NE M L King Blvd
Portland, OR 97211
503- 335-0271
Robert F. W illiams (1925-1996): civil rights organizer
Malcolm X (1925-1965): author, activist
Andrew (Andy) Young, Jr. (1932-): clergyman, SCLC activist
and executive director.
Whitney M. Young, Jr. (1921-1971): Executive Director of
National Urban League: advisor to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson,
and Nixon
Mon-Fri 9am-7pm • Sunday closed
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