An Interview with Jordan Thomas, Co-Founder, Brooklyn for Barack

by Howard Pitsch

Q. Like many who took to the ballot for Barack Obama, why were you so intrigued with him?

I became aware of Obama a few days before he made his 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention. He struck me as someone who was sober, serious, intelligent and centered. I read his book Dreams From My Father and continued to follow his activities in the senate.

Q. What do you mean by his being centered?

When he campaigned for the senate awfully hard for a guy who didn't yet have an opponent. In one interview he explained, "When your name is Barack Obama, you have to try just a little bit harder." That impressed me.

Q. How did you start the group, "Brooklyn for Barack"?

Along with some other organizers, I started the group by using a function on the barackobama.com website. After four days, 70 people joined up. Initially, I didn't feel qualified to be a leader of a grassroots effort, but my father was an educational administrator, so I certainly applied what I had learned about administration from him.

Q. I see that you created a website, BrooklynforBarack.com

Yes, and with it we did a lot of field work - voter registration, canvassing - in the borough, and continued those activities into Pennsylvania as well. By the time of the general election, I had gone on to work for the Service Employee's International Union/Local 1199's Presidential Field Team in Colorado.

Q. What is your organization doing now that Barack is in office?

We continue to work in different areas - legislative, service and political. One priority will be voting rights. We will work with Organizing For America, the Democratic National Committee's organizing wing, when our interests intersect. We will hold candidate forums to bring our membership together with candidates that they, as individuals, might consider supporting.

Q. Do such local activities really revolve about the president?

We are mindful that our membership came together around the President's candidacy and that we have people of different parties and perspectives. It's safe to say, though, that our membership is progressive, so we attempt to be as expansive as possible across the spectrum of progressivism.

Q. That sounds good in theory, but how do you nail down the practice?

By giving people choices at political forums, by giving folks various opportunities to do service.

Q. I understand that you held a service fair and invited 65 organizations to inform 600 individual attendees about service opportunities in Brooklyn and beyond, and that you will hold another one soon. Who will be there?

Organizations that will help people weather the current economic conditions-- job training programs, hospitals to educate people on how to care for themselves under stressful conditions, legal advisers: the list goes on.

Q. Attorney General Eric Holder recently said Americans were a "nation of cowards‚" when discussing race. President Obama softened that, saying "We could be more constructive in facing up to sort of the painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crowism." What is your take?

I can't say I don't recognize what the attorney general is saying, but tonally I'm probably more aligned with the President. I learned quite a bit about race relations in this country from the ’08 election. As hard as I worked and as much as I believed in my heart that he would win - had to win - I was shocked when he did. And shocked at how shocked I was. Despite some ugly things in the two-year campaign, Obama engaged the American people in good faith and, in the end, he won.

So, I think talk is good, but it must absolutely be backed up with action. In my estimation, having a fair-minded President, working in the areas of healthcare education, the environment: if he is successful‚ I think we'll see some of the old resentments on all sides begin to dissipate.

Q. Do you feel more responsibility for African-Americans in your efforts?

Well, we feel responsible to the people of Brooklyn, many of whom happen to be African- Americans. So far, our work has mostly been in predominantly black and white neighborhoods, but we are consciously expanding our efforts to reach all of Brooklyn's communities.

Q. What are you doing now?

I'm involved in several outreach efforts and am struggling through a screenplay about my experience in grassroots Obamaland. It's mostly set in Fort Greene and Bed-Stuy.

--All Hope and Vision interviews are by Howard Pitsch who lives in Fort Greene.