1911 United

Lots of negative things can be and have been written about Black Greek letter organizations....Most of it ,I'm convinced is written by people who are not members, people who ,when they had the chance, either didn't have the guts to become members or didn't have the grade point average or were just plain rejected somehow.

Whatever.!..People bring their own personal agendas and insecurities to this conversation and I see it in just about every article or blogpost I read criticizing Black Greek Letter Organizations. Negative is what always makes the news....It's all some people can talk about since they don't know first hand any other aspect about the inner workings of these mostly secret societies.

"Those that talk don't know....
  Those that know, don't talk"

So when I saw a blurb by one of my friends on Facebook about this super pac called "1911 United" I wondered where all of the nay sayers were who love to write about hazing as if that is the only thing that is noteworthy of writing about Black Greek Letter Organizations..

I thought to myself...What about the good things they do? Almost all of them have community programs that they run consistantly and some of the greatest people of these organizations took part in the civil rights movemant and struggle for Black Liberation.... Dr. Martin Luther King....An Alpha....Dr. Ralph Abernathy, A Kappa, Jessie Jackson, An Omega , Huey P. Newton, a Sigma! just to name a few...

And now , two fraternities...Mine, Kappa Alpha Psi and the men of Omega Psi Phi have joined together and formed a Super Pac called "1911 United" to raise money for President Obama's campaign...It's about time Black Greeks stepped up and got into the political game of our time....Where is the chatter on Facebook and Twitter and in Bloggerland about this?

This is part of what is making election 2012 politically historic. This marks the first presidential election with super PACs. Given free rein by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Super PACs are independent committees allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support, or skewer, a political candidate.

These Super Pacs are already shaping the election. After a pro-Romney super PAC, "Restore Our Future", spent nearly $3 million on attack ads in Iowa targeting Newt Gingrich, his lead in the state swiftly plummeted. But this new pro-Obama super PAC, 1911 United, has a different strategy in mind: to mobilize an "army of Obama supporters."

Backed by the men of Kappa Alpha Psi and the men of Omega Psi Phi, historically black fraternities that both celebrated their centennials last year, 1911 United aims to raise $1.5 million toward training and organizing African-American voters in key battleground states to re-elect President Obama. Members of the two fraternities joined forces last year, officially forming the committee in December, after seeing that both organizations were running their own campaign volunteer-recruitment efforts at college homecoming events.

Sinclair Skinner, the treasurer of this Super Pac said- ""We were thinking about how we could really honor the legacy of those brothers who got together 100 years ago, and we thought perhaps the best thing we could do is help re-elect our president,"

To achieve this goal, 1911 United plans to organize and deploy 10,000 volunteers to register at least 100 voters each and activate them to hit the polls. The PAC is focusing its efforts in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Colorado.


"When it comes to putting down dollars, energy and effort, these are the critical battleground states," said Skinner, 42. "We also chose states where the black electorate represents a percentage of the population that will make a difference in the election's outcome if we don't come out. We're not fighting Republicans; we're fighting apathy."

Sinclair Skinner,A brother of Kappa Alpha Psi is a mechanical engineer who served as field director for former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's first mayoral campaign, says that he understands criticism of super PACs in general, for allowing corporations to dominate the political process. But he's unapologetic about forming one.

"I am conscious of how money impacts campaigns, and how it's used to control and strangle the process. That being said, we want to make sure that every resource available is being used to empower our people go out and vote," he said.

And yes, that possibly includes the attack ads for which super PACs are so notorious.

"We're going to be able to have advertisements that support Obama, and some might consider them attack ads. But I think it's about time black folks had their own attack ads," said Skinner. "We've borne the brunt of most of them whenever someone's running for office, from the time of Willie Horton. If this vehicle gives us a voice and an opportunity to put forth our agenda, then, in that context, I think it's a good thing."

Another critical aspect of 1911 United's approach is organizing early, instead of the typical model of rushing a last-minute push in the fall. Starting now will be especially important in combating possible disenfranchisement of black voters in the form of photo-ID laws, cuts to early voting and other rule changes in the 2012 election.

Brother Skinner added-""Some of this is about our people maturing in the electoral process,All too often ,African Americans mistakenly view elections as a one-day event. "The issue of voter suppression is not new to us as a people. But getting involved in the process in January will ensure that we're more prepared come November for whatever they try to throw at us. That involvement means making sure that people are aware of all the laws, all the rules, and in a position to address them."

Despite 1911 United's emphasis on racially diverse swing states, the organization intends to work in as many areas as possible. For example, the committee will send a delegation to New Hampshire primary next week to campaign for President Obama during the primaries.

"In every place we can be, we're going to do our best to battle for our president," said Brother Skinner. "We're not struggling. We're a powerful people. We can do anything. And we're going to fight to make sure our president gets re-elected."

This is only the beginning...I'm hoping the Deltas, Sigma Gamma Rhos, AKA's , Zetas, Sigmas ,Alphas and Iotas all join in and help out...Who says that Black people can't come together for a common cause? This is positive news that everyone ought to be talking about more.