I have spent the last 30 years working to improve the quality of life for people throughout California. As a social justice activist, I’ve worked to bridge disparity gaps by developing and implementing solutions to make a difference. Over the years, one of my main goals was to ensure that every voice is heard, especially those from the most vulnerable communities.
When I was just a teenager, I got involved in community organizing and from then it became a major part of my personal and professional life. As a physician assistant at the nation’s largest trauma center I witnessed first-hand the despair and violence unleashed by the crack cocaine epidemic. I used my organizing experience to found the Community Coalition, a direct response to the devastation of the drug epidemic . Today, the organization is recognized as a national model for grassroots organizing and a center for training the next generation of social justice activists and leaders.
After 13 years of leading the Community Coalition, I took state office representing the 47th Assembly District. Last year, I was appointed the Majority Leader for the California State Assembly during the 2007-2008 legislative session, making me the first African American and the first woman to hold this leadership position.
As an elected official, community leader and a social activist, I did not hesitate to endorse Senator Barack Obama. As a community activist, he helped build coalitions to empower residents to fight for change. As a state legislator, he worked with law enforcement to pass a law that required interrogations and confessions in all capital cases to be video tapped after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent. He has a proven commitment to education and working families.
As a Senator, he has shown true leadership while dealing with our country’s domestic and foreign policy concerns. He has consistently opposed the war in Iraq. He is the candidate who will end the war as well as ensure that the country uses those wasted funds to address poverty issues throughout the nation.
I am confident that he will inspire thousands of new voters to go to the polls because we are all ready for change. Senator Obama reminds all of us that hope can move us forward. I am proud to serve on the Obama for America National Diversity Advisory Council and as the chair of the California African Americans for Obama Campaign. And I am thrilled to be a part of the Women for Obama Campaign.
Majority Leader Karen Bass
California State Assembly
1 comment:
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