Making The Link: Civil Rights and Campaign Finance ReformOn Saturday, December 8th, 2001, the National Civic League and leading community activists in Denver, Colorado, sponsored “Making The Link: Civil Rights and Campaign Finance Reform”, an educational forum on the interrelated issues of civil rights and campaign finance reform. The morning event included open discussions regarding the need to expand citizens’ knowledge concerning campaign finance reform and how it relates to Denver’s diverse community.
Stephanie Wilson, the director of the Fannie Lou Hamer Project, delivered a riveting keynote address connecting the history of earlier voting and civil rights struggles to the ongoing struggle for campaign finance reform. The Fannie Lou Hamer Project is a national non-profit that works with traditional civil rights organizations and communities of color to engage in campaign finance reform initiatives. Visit their web site at www.flhp.org. Complementing Wilson’s address, an open-panel addressed the question “Do Denver and Colorado Need Campaign Finance Reform?” Panelists included: Gloria Tanner, Former State Senator; Menola Upshaw, Executive Director of the Denver NAACP; and Pete Maysmith, Executive Director, Colorado Common Cause. Moderated by Les Berry, City of Denver, Office of the Auditor, the panelists urged the citizens of Denver to continue the discussion in their own neighborhoods as well as contact local public officials who did not attend the forum in order to rekindle the campaign finance reform discussion in Denver. Sponsors for this collaborative event included: The Center for African-American Policy; Citizens Project; Colorado Black Women for Political Action; Colorado Common Cause; Colorado Progressive Coalition; Denver League of Women Voters; Denver NAACP; Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance; the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado; the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.- Denver Section; Reclaim Democracy; and the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver. Related Links |
