Wednesday, January 14, 2009

We Have A Country


"What we now want is a country—a free country—a country not saddened by the footprints of a single slave... WE want a country, and are fighting for a country, where social intercourse and commercial relations shall neither be embarrassed nor embittered by the imperious exactions of an insolent [greedy] oligarchy."


- Federick Douglass, New York Tribune, January 14, 1864






Our pursuit to create "a lil bit of change” is based upon the belief that the real metamorphosis of a community begins at the core of the people making changes in their lives. Change has always been here and now we're coming of age to embody and conduct it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Change Agents of the Year

In the words of one of generation's most notable quotables "Change clothes and go". And that is exactly what brother and sister Lorielle and Brandon Broussard did this year. Featured on the January cover of Black Enterprise, these entrepreneurial siblings are the creators and owners of the clothing campaign "Barack the Vote". "Oh, I have seen that," you say. Well, of course you have. Worn by both young and old and every age in between, Barack the Vote tee shirts and hoodies were the most recognizable support along the campaign trail this year. By creating these walking billboards, the Broussards were able to influence the election results while collecting "a lil bit of change" for themselves.

Recently, we sat down with Lorielle to get some insight on how she became our Change Agent of the Year.

If you were to describe your craft to a room full of people who knew nothing about you, what would you tell them?
I'm a fashion designer. If they need a little more than that, my brother and I started the company that made the Barack the Vote paraphernalia (T's and hoodies) during the 2008 presidential election.

Why did you decide upon this medium as your form of expression?

It was almost a no brainer for me to decide upon this medium to express ourselves. I've always been in the fashion/entertainment industry since I was in college. We (my brother and I) just thought the more that Barack Obama's name is seen and heard then people will ask questions and want to know who he was and what he was about...what is his stance on the major issues in today's society. So, we figured that with our t-shirts that people would be walking billboards for our next President of the United States.

What is Change and are people ready for it to affect them directly?

Something that I always say is that the only thing that is constant is Change. Change is what we need in the country right now and that is Barack Obama, it's young people really caring about what's happening in the world today, and it's what we're doing right now, changing the way people in America think about politics, race relations, everything. People are definitely ready for it to affect them directly, I know I am. Matter of fact, it already has affected me.

What has been the best response to your brand of Change so far?

The best response to our brand of change has been being recognized by my peers, parents, strangers, and President-Elect Barack Obama that we really did make a difference in this election and in history. That is the best reward, after Barack Obama being elected President, that we could have received.

What is the title of the book about your life?

Qreative Jeanius

Where can people interested in you find your work find you and how can they support you?
Anyone that is interested in my work can check it out at www.barackthevote.com
Support us by buying some gear, support the cause!!!

Coming soon www.YOTOWN.com

Why does everybody need A Lil Bit of Change?

Everybody needs a lil bit of change because it's healthy and it's the only thing that is constant!!!


Sunday, January 11, 2009

Soapbox Sunday: Obama Mis-Steps or Congress Out-Of-Step


Our good friend Barely Partisan decided to help us start the new year with a bang. As usual, his insight from atop the Hill provides us with a lil bit of perspective on what's being talked about in the cloakrooms at the Capitol. We now yield the floor to the distinguished gentleman from the Beltway.


The United States is engaged in two wars, the Middle East is embroiled in a conflict that is as traditional as it is alarming, and our economy is not getting any better soon. However, our news media this week dedicated a disproportionate amount of time to concocting a story: President-elect Obama's 2009 mis-steps. The real spotlight should have been on Congress.

While it is true that the working conditions of the Obama team have changed, they have adapted rather well to Washington so far. With a hefty dose of hubris, which is forgivable given the margin of victory, they have crafted a star studded cabinet. In the last few days, we have seen the media turn too much attention towards embellishing the few perceived mis-steps the Obamians have made. Let's take a look, because it is not the Obamians who are at fault.

First, Barack Obama won with a larger margin than President Clinton... ever did. It was an Electoral College landslide that showed his coattails in every state besides Tennessee, yet he still wants Republican support for his economic stimulus. Trust me, he does not need it, and Republicans are frankly flattered he is still offering tax cuts. He spent the last two months calling them individually and wooing them; now he is going to ask for their votes and ideas. While that sounds like a campaign promise fulfilled, we see now that Democrats miss his attention. They want the Obama stimulus to be theirs, and now they want to amend it, tinker with the tax cut, and frankly slow down the process. Bottom-line: he ran, he won, and now they need to get in line. Sure Congress is a co-equal branch of government, but that is only really true when the President and the Congress are from different parties. It is likely that congressional Democrats will cause the President-elect more heartburn than will the loyal opposition as we get started. That's not his mis-step, that's House Speaker Nancy Pelosi losing a grip on her gavel and Sen. Reid just being himself.

Next, if there was a story, it was the withdrawal of Governor Richardson from Secretary of Commerce contention because of a grand jury investigation. Sure, he should have known we would all find out about this earlier, but neither was he was not forthcoming nor did the Obamians do their homework. So, he pulled his nomination, turning a molehill into a mountain. However, I am almost glad he did. He was overqualified to head the Commerce Department anyway. If he was the "one" all Latinos wanted to have a hefty role in the new Administration, they should all be clamoring. (How can you tell if a government post is important? Name people that had the job before. How many secretaries of commerce can you name? Slim pickings after Ron Brown, right? Maybe that post isn't so important, right? OK.) However, instead of more attention given to the governor, he became a cog in the perceived Obama unwinding wheel this week. This time, the media just chasing the wrong story.

Last but not least, Obamians want Leon Penetta to head the CIA. Good for them; when you win an election, you get to decide who works for you. The Senate gets to advise and consent. However, incoming Select Intelligence Committee chairwoman Diane Feinstein made a media event of the fact that she was not consulted. Fine. Even if no one called her, does she want to tell the media that? Why didn't she just call the Obamians to express her outrage? Attention. It wasn't that the former congressman and Clinton White House chief of staff isn't qualified. So, instead of waiting on her turn to give consent at the confirmation hearings, she takes her case to the media. Embarassing the man whom will become her president and painting a bleaker picture of herself, Sen. Feinstein added to the media frenzy that the President-elect is stumbling at the start.

There are lots of legitimate stories that the media could focus on in this process, but it just seems like they are hell-bent on reaching for stories that are shallow. The Obamians are going to get their economic plan because he has the mandate, and congressional Dems would be stupid to allow the Republicans to deliver the President-elect the votes while they struggle to handle the change they asked for. Richardson will probably be indicted sometime in the distant future, but that is not the story. The story was that Labor and Commerce was all a loyal constituency received for delivering the election. If Latino voters ever wake up to realize that, then the Obama electoral victory map will become a dinosaur. The problems with the Penetta appointment are contrived, and in the future Sen. Feinstein should use the phone not a press release. The real attention should be paid to the unfair grilling that Attorney General designate Eric Holder will receive next week. So, while there are stories out there, to say that the President-elect is fumbling early is not one. To say that congressional Democrats are victims of their own success (that they received only as Obama carried them) is really the way of looking at it. In the long run, they will only hurt themselves: no one can hurt a Democrat like a Democrat.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Don't Change the Channel: The Year in Review

We are multimedia historians, documenting and sharing change as it happens with the world at large. We were there ... and so were you. From the announcement of Barack Obama's candidacy in Springfield, IL our agents were on the ground and we were only a click away from experiencing that moment through their eyes to spearheading fundraising initiatives in New York City for the Quarterly Reporting Deadline, which reached across the country to our peers working in Los Angeles or studying in Tennessee. ALBC stitched a quilt of all the memories of people involved in various facets of the Presidential Election on both the micro and macro levels by facilitating conversations and preserving emotions in photographs, videos, and personal essays. We are collecting the artifacts of our generation, a generation that will never forget the events of 2008, The Generation of Change. ALBC knows that the election of Barack Obama is not the culmination of Change, but it is the beginning, and we are the stewards who will ensure the preservation of the legacy this Change has provided.


























The Possible Dream from George Twopointoh on Vimeo.





A Lil Bit of Ticker Tape