I am so grateful to have been a part of the Change Memphis program. Over the past five months, I have had the privilege of being the Organizing Coordinator for Change Memphis, a campaign experience unlike any other, I have been involved with. In this campaign, we target not the most likely voters but the unlikely. We target the precincts that are low turn out, lower income, and all to frequently ignore by campaigns that cannot afford the time to cover those areas where few likely voters are to be found.
I want to take this time to say that this has been a very rewarding experience, the people in these neighborhoods were for the most part friendly, interested and surprisingly politically insightful. They knew things about this city, that alot of "really smart experts" have missed. They were not unlikely voters..they were voters who nobody ever asked to vote. We registered over 1500 new voters , mostly from areas like these. They want to vote, they just need someone to give them a chance.
Lemme tell you a story... or two.
I want to take this time to say that this has been a very rewarding experience, the people in these neighborhoods were for the most part friendly, interested and surprisingly politically insightful. They knew things about this city, that alot of "really smart experts" have missed. They were not unlikely voters..they were voters who nobody ever asked to vote. We registered over 1500 new voters , mostly from areas like these. They want to vote, they just need someone to give them a chance.
Lemme tell you a story... or two.
I was going door to door, trying to register voters, in the Brown mall section of Vance-Orlenes area. I decided to try and get a feel for the neighborhood. So I went to the stores, stopped by a church fish-fry and yard sale.
At the yard sale, I passed out some CM lit and spoke to them about the Charter amendments. Most of the people were..older, so my natural impulse was to go to them first. But, there was also a small trio of young women sitting in the shade of the Church. There was a volunteer for another campaign there,who, rushed right past me handing out buttons, and her instincts also told her to go to the older women first. So she walked right past the trio,and made a b-line to the older women. I did not want to crowd the ladies, so I decided to talk to the trio. Their anger surprised me, they not only knew why the other volunteer had ignored them, they also knew why. "Yeah, the old folks vote...they don't do nuthin but watch the news, so of course they gonna vote. What she needed to be doing was talkin to us. Were the ones who are gonna win this election. They need to understand and do better!" The tall tomboyish one passionately stated, "Shit, we are about to head to the polls in a minute, but she just ...wrote us off, without saying nothing."
Her friend complained.
So I spoke with them and let them vent to me for about twenty minutes, and they thanked me for it. I understood not only what this campaign was, but I think for the first time, I truly understood the why. It's about them,those three girls who everyone has written off. No one ever tried to register them before. We don't fund their schools, police do not keep them safe from crime, or drugs. Hell, I have canvassed at least two crack houses, walked up on a "corner" and did not realize it....at first. Had a religious debate with a woman, drinking a forty with a gun on her hip. So after all this, these young girls are expected to think their vote counts?...and yet despite this........THEY DO WANT TO VOTE! THEY JUST NEED TO BE TREATED WITH SOME RESPECT.
I was also trying my best to reach out to the Berclair neighborhood, an area with blacks, whites, and latinos...and growing tensions. I found a Seniors group at the local community center, and spoke at a meeting of over seventy elderly residents.
I was also trying my best to reach out to the Berclair neighborhood, an area with blacks, whites, and latinos...and growing tensions. I found a Seniors group at the local community center, and spoke at a meeting of over seventy elderly residents.
Later that week, one of the ladies called me at the office. She did not have a question about the Charter amendments, but instead wanted to know about a court case she was involved in. She had evicted a tenant and sued for damages. She had not had any contact with the courts for sometime, and had lost her paperwork, and did not know what was going on. So, for some reason she decides to call me. So I tried to calm her down, and took her information down , called General Sessions, and got the information for her and explained who to call about these things and gave her all the information I managed to find. It was nothing complicated, or sensitive. She could have done it herself,but she just did not know where to start. This also drove home to me what this campaign is all about. Most people do not know how government works, and local government is a real mystery to most people. They know the names, but not the policies. It's our job as progressives to make sure this kind of information is out there. Not trying to convince or con people, but by giving them the tools to make their own choices, and trusting democracy enough to believe that they will make the right ones.
I have had a great time...well...no...it's been brutal and hard....and I lost my temper alot.......but really great too.
Brad Watkins, Organizing Coordinator
