Graig's blog

If you're like me, you're wondering what we can do to support the President we elected. And it feels very strange to think that advocacy and activism might result in real change rather than just preventing bad things from happening. I’ve been watching the developing relationship between the White House, the DNC, Organizing for America, and local organizing activities. All of that inspired me to think about what role BlueNC should play during an Obama presidency.Read more

David Young has been elected the new chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He was elected with a majority of the vote on the first ballot, and his election was affirmed with a voice vote. He replaces Jerry Meek, who did not run for re-election.Read more

Bev Perdue must have been reading my post from Sunday. She wants us all to know that "The buck stops with me." That is, even with North Carolina's convoluted educational hierarchy, the governor is the one responsible for successfully educating our children.

What about our Constitutionally mandated and elected Superintendent of Public Instruction? Well, Perdue says "I don't believe an elected statewide official is a figurehead and I resent that on behalf of June Atkinson and the voters of North Carolina." That's not what she her actions indicated. Today she suggested creating a new position of Chief Executive Officer for the Department of Public Instruction. When there's a CEO, what's the Superintendent supposed to do? Perdue has asked her to lead a special commission on career development and workforce issues.

Sure sounds like something you ask a figurehead to do...Read more

Today's N&O frontpage features an issue that I've been meaning to write about for a while... The wacky way North Carolina manages our public education system.

In our strange system, responsibility for education is distributed across at least seven levels. The titular head of our education system, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, has the least power of anyone.

The North Carolina Public School Forum lists this as one of the top 10 education issues of 2009. It's one of those complex issues that has never really been addressed because none of the power brokers have a vested interest in making it better. You can guess at who might suffer from their inaction.

Here's my take on how it works, and what we can change.Read more

As he did last year, Rev. Dr. William Barber of the North Carolina NAACP gave his Christmas Message on the steps of the North Carolina Community College System. Rev. Barber reflected on Luke 2:7, in which Joseph and Mary are told there is no room in the inn. He called on the leaders of our state to have the courage to "open up these doors and let our children come in."

Don't you think that innkeeper might look back and wish that he had let Jesus into his his inn? Do we want to make the same mistake?Read more

On Facebook the other day, my friend Calvin posted a question:

Should you vote your party even if you despise your party's candidates offensive ads about immigration and undocumented students?

Ugh, I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. Beverly Perdue and Kay Hagan have been broadcasting ads that show how tough they are on illegal immigrants. Perdue slammed the door on children on undocumented immigrants that want to attend our state’s community colleges.

That’s why I was so heartened when Barack Obama gave an interview to a local radio reporter and addressed immigration head on. Read more

This week I've heard nothing but worries from Barack Obama supporters.

I'm here to tell you to quit worrying... we're going to win.

If you're like my Uncle Gordon, you're thinking that I've been brainwashed by the insider wining and dining of the Convention. Not so. Hear me out, and think about what you'll need to do if you want to win rather than worry.

Forget about Palin, pundits and polls. Focus on television and turnout. Help bridge generational and racial divides.

Lots more below the fold...Read more

When Barack Obama finished his historic speech, I stood looking up, staring at the fireworks, and crying as thousands of people stood around me cheering. I had spent the last four hours cheering, singing, dancing and yelling. I was surprised to learn that hope could lead to tears, that joy could be so quiet, that a week of activity could leave me so still.

I came to the 2008 Democratic National Convention not knowing what to expect out of the final night’s big event. I was unsure whether Sen. Obama could meet the high standards of the occasion. I thought that his speech would have to harness fire and send fireworks. While Obama certainly showed his fire, the speech was more measured than I expected. In some ways, it was more presidential. When I could finally speak after its conclusion, I turned to Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Jack Sanders and said, “We have to go home and do this.”

More below the fold...Read more

This is my final mutual interview from the convention. It's kind of a human interest story.

Joan Tao was a law student at the University of Chicago in the mid-90's (I was at the social work school there about the same time), and she took a constitutional law seminar with Barack Obama. Now she's a lawyer in Greensboro, and one of the Obama campaign's top fundraisers in the state.

Watch these clips to hear us talk about Barack Obama the professor, our experiences with fundraising, Joan's hopes for an Obama Presidency, and my connection between practicing social work and supporting Barack Obama.

Here's part 1:Read more

Not all of my conversations at the convention were about issues. On Wednesday night, I sat with George Chunn from Raleigh. We ended up having a great conversation about integrity in politics. Specifically, we talked about what it means to see Barack Obama as a husband and father. Just as my conversation with Jan Roller reminded me of how important it is for white people to talk about race, this conversation reminded me of why men need to talk with each other about fidelity. We tried to recapture some of that here.

You'll also get to hear George talk about what's happening to organize Raleigh. He asked me about what I've been doing in Chapel Hill (hint: we have great parties for Obama!). And he got personal, so I had to tell him some about why my kids like Barack Obama and what I think about a political future for myself. That's a little bit more than I expected to share about myself in these vlogs, but anything is possible in a mutual interview!

Here's part 1:Read more