What is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day?

After a long session of lawmakers debating civil rights in Alaska, one senator posed the question:

"Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?"

A poised and eloquent Tlingit woman answered him:

"I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them of our Bill of Rights."

Elizabeth Peratrovich, and her husband Roy, were tireless workers in the fight for civil rights in Alaska. They were also pretty darn successful. In part because of this statement, and the rest of Elizabeth Peratrovich's speech, the anti-discrimination law got passed.

The uber-short version from yesterday's Juneau Empire:

It was in 1988 that the Legislature designated Feb. 16 - the anniversary of the signing of Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 - as a holiday honoring Peratrovich. She was instrumental in securing passage of the bill that outlawed racial discrimination in Alaska. The Alaska Act pre-dated passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 by 19 years.

The first time the speech of hers really hit home was a few years ago at the Alaska Native Heritage Center's celebration of the day. Diane Benson did sort of a one-woman performance of the speech, and some "thoughts" of Elizabeth, that was very moving.

At the celebration the Heritage Center was having this year (Saturday,) one of the Heritage Center workers, Loren Anderson, had some pretty inspiring (yet low-key) things to say about the our continued journey:

"Is prejudice gone in Alaska? We know that's not true..."

"Will you take some lumps for speaking up? Sure. But if you see that leadership opportunity, take it."

Today, I had a meeting regarding reconciliation and Alaska Native/non-Natives in Alaska. I couldn't think of a more fitting day to meet, or to begin this new venture. I'm excited!

A few more bits on Elizabeth Peratrovich:

A speech of Fran Ulmer (then Lt. Gov., now U of A chancellor) about Elizabeth Peratrovich.

From the Alaska Native Sisterhood's page on the day.

Community Organizers

Guiliani and Palin took Obama to task last night for his college job, and just-after-college job - Community Organizer - a job which Palin doesn't view as having "real responsibilities."

Some other community organizers:

The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood

ANB was formed in 1912 to address Native rights in Alaska. It is an organization still active today.

Elizabeth Peratrovich

Elizabeth and her husband Roy were just two of many members of the Native community to stand up to injustice, and fight for civil rights in Alaska. Elizabeth is still honored each year with a state holiday in Alaska.







Cesar Chavez



Arizona's own labor and civil rights leader - first a farm worker, than a farm workers leader.








Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



Paid the ultimate price for what he, and so many others, organized in the American community.



Countless men and women throughout the centuries have been community organizers, and only in the last century were they sometimes given a title. Their responsibility is great, made much more so because they must motivate people, by the very definition of their job, to change the status quo. It's not a job where you come in, make sure the budgets are balanced, hire and fire whom you want, and leave to the next guy. Community organizers come in so many times to address what politicians won't.

What is interesting about the Guiliani/Palin attack on the jobs Obama had during and just after college - mainly getting a community to help itself, to be stronger - is what came out, from Fred Thompson - chosen to speak by the McCain campaign! - in the convention about what McCain was doing during his own academy years:

"In high school and the Naval Academy, John earned a reputation as a troublemaker. But as John points out, he wasn't just a troublemaker; he was the leader of the troublemakers.

Although -- although loaded with demerits, like his father, John was
principled even in rebellion. He never violated the honor code.

However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and
date a girl who worked in a bar as a exotic dancer under the name of 'Marie, the
Flame of Florida.'"

Umm....

Okay, I'm not sure why anyone would think those were selling points, not to mention throwing attention to how McCain barely scraped through the academy. Seriously, having had Bush this long, why does anyone think low intelligence in a President is even remotely funny anymore? Is this the "laugh so you don't cry" part?

During college, Obama picked up responsibility before he'd even graduated from Harvard magna cum laude, learning the ropes at organizing whole communities of people, before moving on to politics.

During the Naval academy, McCain was a self-proclaimed "troublemaker" who liked fast cars and loose women, and even after his genuinly heroic stand as a POW, still couldn't give up either.
Call me boring, but I'll take the nerdy, responsible guy over the adulterous, educationally underachieving guy any day.