Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
LWV-RMA Officers
President: Mary Crutchfield4315 Kensington AvenueRichmond VA 23221marycrutchfield@verizon,net 1st Vice President-ProgramVirginia Cowles4001 Monument AvenueRichmond VA [email protected] 2nd Vice President-AdministrationEvelyn Glazier507D North Hamilton StreetRichmond VA [email protected] SecretaryLynn Crowder103 N. Allen AvenueRichmond VA [email protected] TreasurerMary Anne Stone1220 South Meadow StreetRichmond, VA [email protected] Newsletter EditorMeghan H. Dorsett630 Depot Street NEChristiansburg, VA [email protected]
The LeaguerNewsletter of the League of Women Voters of the
Richmond Metropolitan Area
Vol. 96 no. 1 www.richmond.va.lwvnet.org December, 2016
From the President...We have had a very busy and productive fall season! I am proud of all the voter service activities and events that Leaguers participated in that helped inform and motivate citizens to vote in the November 8 election. Thanks to Evelyn Glazier and Lynn McMartin for their work on VOTE411. Thanks to Valarie Fillgrove, our Voter Service Chair, for doing a great job organizing and working in our voter registration drives and naturalization services. Virginia Cowles, First Vice President, has done an excellent job organizing the public presentation on Fracking in Virginia and leading Leaguers in our study of fracking for the consensus meeting. Karen Rosenblum and Jeanne D’Ascoli are to be commended for the work they have put into organizing the Membership Committee. I am delighted to share that 16 new members have joined our League since last spring. Karen and Jeanne have had several meetings and are in the process of forming some sub committees that we will learn more about at our LWV-RMA program planning meeting on January 7, 2017. The LWV-VA Pre-Session held at the Virginia State Capitol on December 7 was an exciting and informative day for Leaguers. We heard from sixteen speakers including: Ric Brown, Secretary of Finance; Molly Ward, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources; Brian Cannon, One Virginia 2021; Meghan Rhyne, Virginia Coalition for Open Government; Janice Craft and Margie Del Castillo, Women’s Equality Coalition; Leslie Tourigny, AAUW; Candace Graham, Women-Matter; and Tram Nguyen, New Virginia Majority. The Virginia Commissioner of Elections, Edgardo Cortes, shared some positive news about improvements that have been made in technology in voter registration and in the election process. He said that more voter registrations are being done electronically and that fewer mistakes happen with electronic registration. He also said that on Election Day the lines at polling places were reduced and that the last voters that had to wait finished by 8:15 p.m. Many thanks to the LWV-VA leaders who organized this amazing event: Co-Presidents, Lois Page and Dianne Blais; Legislative Coordinator, Carol Noggle; and Arrangements Chair, Lynn Johnston. I look forward to attending the Women’s Legislative Roundtable at the General Assembly starting in January and hope that many Richmond Leaguers will join me. I also look forward to the LWV-RMA Program Planning meeting on January 7 and hope that many of you will participate. Until then I wish that you will be able to share some kindness, love, and peace during the holidays.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH! HAPPY KWANZA!
Mary Crutchfield President, LWV-RMA
2016 CALENDAR OF EVENTSJanuary
Jan.7, 2017 LWV-RMA Program Planning Meeting, 10:00 am, Glen AllenLibrary, 10501 Staples Mill Road
Jan.10, 2017 Special Election, VA Senate District 9 (Richmond area) to replace Donald McEachin and Special Elections for VA Senate District 22 and VA House District 85
Jan.11, 2017 VA General Assembly convenesJan.16, 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. DayJan.17 2017 LWV-RMA Board Meeting, 2:00 pm, Ginter Park Presbyterian
ChurchJan.18, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General AssemblyJan.18, 2017 Naturalization Ceremony for New Citizens, 11:00 amJan.20, 2017 US Presidential Inauguration DayJan.21, 2017 Women’s March on Washington, DCJan.25, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General Assembly
FebruaryFeb. 1, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General Assembly, Lobby Day
Feb. 8, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General AssemblyFeb. 14, 2017 Valentine’s DayFeb. 14, 2017 LWV-US Founding 97th AnniversaryFeb. 15, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General AssemblyFeb. 20, 2017 President’s DayFeb. 21, 2017 LWV-RMA Board Meeting, 2:00 pm, Ginter Park Presbyterian
ChurchFeb. 22, 2017 LWV-VA Roundtable, 8:30 am, General AssemblyFeb. 25, 2017 LWV-RMA Black History Month Event: Trip to Washington, DC
African American History Museum
Important LWV-RMA Contacts
Voter Se rvice Valarie Fillgrove 816 591-2572 [email protected]
Advocacy Programs Black History Mabel Wells 367-7949 [email protected] Education Nancy Vest 264-8279 [email protected] Health Care Lynn Johnston 282-6512 [email protected] Affairs Lorraine Waddill 794-4234 [email protected] Mary Anne Stone 359-6721 [email protected] Natural Resources Tyla Matteson 275-6476 [email protected] Virginia Cowles 353-0926 [email protected]’s Issues Donna Granski 739-6181 [email protected]
AdministrationLeaguer Editor Meghan Dorsett 540-382-6431 [email protected] Barbara Greenleaf 359-2982 [email protected]
Karen Rosenblum 346-4897 [email protected] Relations Mary Crutchfield 354-5355 [email protected] Media Nancy Vest 264-8279 [email protected] Webmaster Evelyn Glazier 358-0011 [email protected]
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 2
In This Issue of The LeaguerCalendar of Events......................................................................................................2
Important LWV-RMA Contacts..................................................................................2
LWV-RMA News
Fracking in Virginia Program..........................................................................4
Program Planning--Save the Date..................................................................4
Meet the Members, 2016-17, Some of Your Officers......................................5
Voter Registration in 2016..............................................................................6
LWV-VA News
Women's Legislative Round Tables & League Lobby Day..............................7
Voter Services
Voter Services Report.......................................................................................7
Vote 411 2016--By the Numbers......................................................................8
Membership Report....................................................................................................8
Women's Issues Report...............................................................................................8
International Affairs
Reports from the International Affairs Council..............................................9
Why Did Britians Vote for the Brexit?............................................................9
Essential Elements for a Solution in Syria......................................................9
The Strategic Importance of Africa...............................................................10
Black History
Reserve Your Place for the 2017 Black History Commemoration................11
Historical End Note: Keir Brooks Sterling................................................................11
Save the DateWomen's Equality Coalition Lobby Day
The Women’s Equality Coalition Lobby Day will be on January 23 at the Virginia State Capitol. The day will begin with breakfast at the Lieutenant Governor’s office at approximately 7:00 a.m. Leaguers who are interested in attending and representing the LWV-RMA please contact Donna Granski, [email protected].
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 3
LWV-RMANews
Fracking in Virginia Program
Virginia Cowles, Vice President for the Advocacy Program
The LWV-RMA is participating in the LWV of Virginia study of hydraulic fracturing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. To introduce the subject, a public meeting, “Regulating Hydraulic Fracturing in Virginia,” was held at the Tuckahoe branch of the Henrico Public Library on October 27, 2016. The speakers were Michael A. Skiffington, Policy and Planning Manager of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, and Linda Burchfiel, Chair of the Fracking Committee, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Burchfiel also has served on the Environmental Council that advises the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on environmental matters. Skiffington leads DMME’s strategic planning team and serves as the agency’s regulatory coordinator as well as its primary liaison to the General Assembly.
[L-R] Marie Stella, Michael Skiffington,[DMME], Linda Burchfiel,[Sierra Club]
Their discussion of regulations of hydraulic fracturing, now recently approved by the governor, was followed by a question and answer session. Marie Stella capably moderated the program, which was attended by twenty-one LWV-RMA members and eight members of the public, including Sierra Club member Bill Johnson and Kevin Schmidt from the Virginia
Department of Agriculture. This event was not a debate, but there was a lively discussion of how the environmental community felt that the new regulations fell short of what is needed to protect natural resources in areas where fracking takes place. The possibility of fracking in the Chesapeake basin areas of King George and Westmoreland counties was of particular concern.
[L -R] Donna, Lynn, Karen
A meeting to reach consensus on the questions posed by the LWV-VA fracking study committee is being held on Thursday, December 15, 2016. The study materials prepared by the committee are available at the LWV-VA natural resources website http:// www.lwv-va-natres.org . We hope that this information and LWV-RMA participation in the fracking study has provided members with a better understanding of the benefits and problems related to hydraulic fracturing in Virginia.
Program Planning: SAVE THE DATE:
January 7, 2017Virginia Cowles, Vice President
for the Advocacy ProgramAgain it’s program planning time! The 2017 Program Planning meeting is scheduled for January 7th at 10 a.m. in the large meeting room of the Glen Allen Branch of the Henrico Public Library, 10501 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060-3242.This is our yearly meeting to review LWV advocacy positions and to decide what our
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 4
action priorities for 2017-18 should be.This is the year to review the state league's positions in preparation for the LWV-VA Convention, June 8-9, 2017. Is there any position that we should study, restudy, update, abandon, or archive? The LWV-VA positions may be reviewed at http://www.lwv-va.org/ files/positions-2015-positions-brief-zachry.pdf (Positions in Brief) and http:// www.lwv-va.org/ files/positions-2015-positions-full-zachry.pdf (Complete Positions). Also we should remember that the LWVUS program for 2016-18, called the League-wide Campaign for Making Democracy Work adopted at the 2016 Convention, should be incorporated into all local leagues' plans for the future. The campaign for making democracy work includes efforts in voter protection and mobilization, election reform, nonpartisan redistricting, reducing money in politics, and an awareness of potential constitutional amendment proposals that state legislatures might propose.Our local league positions will also be under review. The complete positions can be found at http://www.richmond.va.lwvnet.org/about_action.html. A summary of the positions will be reviewed at the meeting. Please mark your 2017 calendar and join other members of the LWV-RMA for our annual New Year get-together on January 7th. There will be serious business as we consider what we want to do and what we actually might be able to do. There will also be food and fun.
Meet the Members2016-2017 Some of Your
LWV-RMA Officers
Lynn Crowder is a native Kentuckian who was an English major at Centre College of KY and got an M.A.T. in English at Johns Hopkins. She lived most of her adult life in Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked as a museum assistant and a medical secretary. She and her husband Bland have lived in Richmond since he retired 6 years ago. He is a native Virginian. Her son Ashby lives in Baltimore, so she is happy to be in Richmond reasonably near him. She belonged to the League “many years ago” in Arkansas and joined again as soon as she moved to Richmond. She is active in the Newcomers Book Club, the
Fan Woman’s Club, and the St. Stephen’s Food Pantry. She is interested in government, politics, literature, Greek art, travel, and the fight for a living wage. Lynn is LWV-RMA Secretary.Why the League? This is a group that studies substantive issues and takes citizen advocacy seriously. Lynn especially enjoys Women’s Roundtable during legislative sessions and the issues studies. Donna Granski grew up in New York City and Connecticut where she met her husband of 48 years. She graduated from the University of Connecticut and attended Yale University. When a new field emerged, learning disabilities, she continued coursework in English at Yale while completing a Master's degree in diagnosis and remediation in reading at UCONN. Immediately upon retiring from 35 years teaching English and reading, she re-joined the Richmond League where she now serves on the board as Women's Issues chair - a position she held 38 years ago on the local and state boards.Why the League? Donna enjoys the company of like-minded women. She also dreams of passage of the ERA before her demise.Nancy Daniel Vest was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. A proud Ram, she attended Virginia Commonwealth University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision. She is a co-author of several books used in teaching Social Studies and Science in Virginia. After working in public education for more than 40 years, she retired in 2014. She currently serves on the LWV-RMA Board and Education Committee. Why the League? Education is the key to an informed democracy. The League works tirelessly to educate voters and encourage participation in our government. Mabel Gilbert Wells was born in Pittsylvania County, Hurt, Virginia. At age 10 her family of parents and eight children moved to Washington, D.C. where she attended public schools and was graduated from Cardoza High School. She received a B.A. in Sociology/ Psychology/Education and a Master’s of Social Work degree from Howard University. She practiced in the Child Welfare field in Washington, D.C. and Madera, California, and
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 5
was a psychiatric social worker with the California Department of Mental Hygiene. Mabel earned a Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Research from Bryn Mawr College, Penn-sylvania, and taught Social Work Policy and Practice at Fresno California State University, Smith College in Northampton, MA, and VCU in Richmond. Mabel met and married the late James E. Wells, a former Tuskegee Airman, in Fresno, California. She is the mother of two successful daughters and five rewarding grandchildren. She has been a member of the LWV about 20 years, and has served several terms on the Board of Directors, LWV-RMA. Mable is a member of the Black History Committee. Why the League? She appreciates the League’s emphasis on supporting voting rights and education for all.
LWV-VA News
Women's Legislative Round Tables & League
Lobby Day:Opportunities to Make
Your Voice Heard From the Virginia Voter Express
Join Leaguers from around the state as we gather in Richmond on February 1 for a day of lobbying on various issues coming before this session of the General Assembly. The day starts at 8:30 a.m. as we welcome legislators making brief talks about their priorities and plans, followed by visits to Delegate and Senate offices. Many other organizations will be in Richmond making their voices hear. Afterwards we will
have lunch at the Tobacco Warehouse with members of other organizations. However, Lobby Day is not the only day we hope to see you in Richmond. WLRTs are every Wednesday morning during the session: January 18 and 25, and Feb. 1, 8, 15, and 22. You may be able to have your hotel and mileage paid for if you come the night before, attend a gathering of Leaguers to polish your lobbying “elevator speech," and then at least visit the offices of your Delegate and Senator. Stay tuned for details in the next few weeks.
Voter ServicesVoter Services
ReportValarie Faidley Fillgrove
Voter Services
What a great year for the League of Women Voters and Voter Service! I want to begin by thanking everyone who helped with our Voter Service activities. You made it possible for the League to keep a visible position in the community. So many people thanked us for being out there and for working to inform the public about issues, election law, voter registration, and getting out the vote. We actually had about 30% of our membership working toward these goals. Great job! Thank You.Here is a rundown on what we did accomplish this fall. In August we sponsored the Voter Registration Training Class. Our first voter registration drive in the summer was at the Brookland Park Boulevard Festival. In September and October we did voter registration drives at VCU SOVO Fair, J. Sargent Reynolds Community College [down-town and Parham Road campuses], the Peace Festival at St. Stephens Church, and Ellwood Thompson’s. We also provided voter registration applications and information at the monthly naturalization ceremonies.We worked with the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond on the Peace Festival. We volunteered as timekeepers for Diversity Richmond’s candidates forums for congress, mayor, city council, and school board.
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 6
Leaguers at Brookland Park Blvd. Festival
Virginia Cowles at the ICGR Peace Festival
Mary & Valarie at Ellwood Thompson's Market
Voter Services Chair, Valarie Fillgrove & President Mary Crutchfield at V.C.U.
Mary Crutchfield, Hilary Piland, Lynn Johnston at J.S. Reynolds Community College.
Mary, Valarie, and Karen Rosenblum at V.C.U.Thank you to all of our volunteers for helping with Voter Registration in 2016. If you are interested in helping out in 2017, contact Valarie Fillgrove, Voter Services Chair, at 816 591-2572.
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 7
Voter Registration in 2016
Patricia Stansbury, of WRIR radio, asked us to do an interview discussing the League, our Vote 411 online voter information guide, and election deadlines. It was broadcast on Wednesday and on Friday evening. We also worked with Channel 12 to answer questions on the extended voter registration deadline and again on the evening before the election and on Election Day morning.I would like to especially thank Evelyn Glazier and Lynn McMartin for the exceptional job they did on the Vote411 online voter information guide. The VOTE411 guide was the main way we were able to share information with the public, both at our voter registration drives and online.Also thanks to all the members who helped and supported me as a new member coming into this League. GET READY FOR THE GUBERNATORIAL AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2017
VOTE 411 2016 - By the Numbers
Lynn McMartin and Evelyn GlazierCo-Chairs
2016 was the 5th election that LWV-RMA created a VOTE411 Voter Guide:
• 62 Richmond area candidates at the start (4 for Congress, 8 for Richmond Mayor, 28 for City Council, 22 for School Board)
• 2 dropped out early• 46 of the remaining 60 candidates
replied, a 77% response rate• 20 questions created/edited by Leaguers
(5 for each race)• 5 Henrico bond issues included• (2 Virginia Constitutional Amendments
from LWV-VA)• (Presidential candidates from LWV-US)
• 7,829 local user “sessions” from 1/1/2016 to 11/8/2016
• 164% increase from 2012• 6,893 or 88% of total sessions from
10/1/2016 to 11/8/2016, when local data
available• 53% of total session from Richmond
users• 18% of sessions from Henrico • 18% from Chesterfield• 5% from Hanover• 5% from Petersburg area
• 5,000 bookmarks and 70 posters (2 sizes) printed and distributed
• 72 volunteer hours (conservative estimate)
MembershipMembership Report
Barbara Greenleaf and Karen Rosenblum
The Membership co-chairs devoted much of 2016 to collecting members’ feedback about ways to grow our Chapter. Over two dinner meetings in August and September, twenty members offered their experience and insight about recruiting and engaging members. Based on those discussions, the Board voted to expand the Membership Committee. That newly-expanded group met at the end of November and established 2017 Membership priorities. These are establishing a discussion series, outreach to underrepresented race/age/ ethnic/political organizations, organiza-tional outreach, and a survey of members’ interests. This committee welcomes your involvement.
Women's IssuesWomen's Issues
ReportDonna Granski
As we digest what the results of this election will mean for women in this country, members of the Rally Committee, which put on the rally commemorating the day when women stood on the steps of our Capitol 100 years before, are still meeting on a monthly basis. While we are cognizant of the fact that the chance of passage of the United States Constitutional Equal
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 8
Rights Amendment in Virginia this session of the General Assembly is slim, we feel it's imperative that this issue continue being brought to the attention of our legislators. With this in mind and with the interest many women have shown after this election cycle, we are strategizing as to how to put pressure on legislators, especially those who continue to prevent even discussion of the ERA.We hope that many of you decide to go to Washington, D.C., for the rally on January 21st. Women from across the nation are making their way to the Capitol to let Congress know our feelings about those issues affecting women and their families. Google Rally Bus to see if there are still seats available as they continue to add buses because of the demand.We are also planning on a March program on women's issues in which we have a showing of the movie EQUAL MEANS EQUAL, based on the book with the same title. We hope to offer this to the public and believe the interest in the issues related to passage of the EQUAL Rights Amendment has risen exponentially of late!
International AffairsReports From the
International Affairs Council
Lorraine Waddill, board director whose portfolio is international affairs, continues to participate as a representative of the LWV-RMA in conference calls with the Department of State. Such calls are off the record and not for attribution, but her participation indicates to the Department of State that the LWV-RMA is concerned about international affairs.Lorraine, Evelyn Glazier, and Virginia Cowles have attended presentations by the World Affairs Council and are sharing what they learned:
“WHY DID BRITAIN VOTE FOR THE BREXIT?”
Lorraine Waddill
Did the European Union do a bad job with public relations? That is one of the reasons
Britain voted for Brexit according to Dr. Chris Bischof, Professor of History at the University of Richmond specializing in modern Britain and the world. Speaking at the World Affairs Council, Dr. Bischof said it was a difficult topic with which to make sense and that there were lies told in the press by both sides in the campaign.As an example of poor press relations, he pointed to the fact that Britain joined the European Union in 1973 and the European Union paid farmers to have wild strips around their plowed fields. For many reasons, including that the strips provided beauty, helped control erosion, and helped with pest control, the program was a huge success. Yet, the European Union called the program by a long undescriptive name and most people didn’t even know the European Union had helped shape this successful policy. The European Union did a terrible job with its branding of what it did and what it represented.The Brexit referendum was badly worded and most people didn’t really know what they were voting for. It was a complex issue yet demanded a simple yes or no vote. Some people were voting for racist reasons, some on immigration issues because of the large influx of recent immigrants, some for perceived political liberty. In Britain the google search for “what is the European Union?” spiked after the referendum vote.Dr. Bischof compared the immigration into Britain today with the immigration of the Irish in the past. He said the discrimination against the Irish and the immigrants today is about the same and that it takes about 75 years for the discrimination to cease. In areas where the immigrants had been there the longest, the vote was to stay in the European Union.Dr. Bischof said that the European Union got blamed for the loss of jobs when the actual reason was globalization. Yet the European Union never explained how it could help with the globalization of jobs in the marketplace. Bischof said that experts did not communicate clearly and that facts were treated just as opinions.Dr. Bischof said that hopefully it could be that Brexit will be a catalyst to bridge the gap between the wealthier London area and the poorer parts of the country. There are no easy
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 9
solutions, but Britain can improve if the problems are solved as a nation.
“ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR A SOLUTION IN SYRIA”
Evelyn Glazier
On November 14, 2016, Lawrence Wilkerson made an excellent presentation on “Essential Elements for a Solution in Syria.” Col. Wilkerson is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Govern-ment and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. His last position in the U.S. government was Chief of Staff to Colin Powell at the U.S. Department of State (2002-2005).The situation in Syria is extraordinarily complicated, with fighting among many factions from the country and region, and with many outside countries involved.According to Col. Wilkerson, the U.S. should:
• Admit we made a mistake and that Assad will stay, at least for a while. He still has a lot of support.
• Stop the flow of arms and ammunition to all sides in the conflict.
• Work with Iran, building on the success of the nuclear deal.
• Do more for the refugees – providing more aid in the area and admitting more refugees into the U.S. We have a responsibility because we helped to cause the situation.
• Understand that Russia has an interest in the area and that the Russians will not give it up.
• Work for peace between Israel and the Arabs, which will reduce conflict in the region.
• Review and adjust our relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Although Wilkerson did not endorse it, he said that Ron Paul’s position that the U.S. should just get out and let the other participants fight to a solution has some appeal. The population in the Arab world is very young. Needed for stability in the region are basic food and shelter, education, and jobs.
The U.S. volunteer military is being seriously damaged by repeated deployments with no end in sight. A separation between the military and the rest of the U.S. population is being created, since only a small percentage of the population is bearing the burdens of war.The military believes in climate change and has models about the effects. They are concerned about the military’s need to respond to droughts, floods, and other catastrophes that create political unrest and more refugees.
“THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF AFRICA”
Virginia Cowles
On October 26, 2016, Herman Jay "Hank" Cohen, who among other diplomatic assign-ments served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1989-1993 under President George H.W. Bush, gave a brief history of Africa since Western involvement and discussed challenges of the African nations. The United States, unlike western European countries, had no 19th century colonies in Africa and supported the end of colonialism on the continent after World War II. Nixon believed that the new nations in Africa should be independent of both super-powers―the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. England and France had prepared their colonies for independence, and from them the newly formed countries inherited a parliamentary system of government. A one-party system developed, however, as more suited to the African way of rule by consensus. Without an opposition party, though, governments controlled the press and came to imprison critics. Economically, African countries prospered from exports, chiefly oil, but the exports failed, and the World Bank had to come to the rescue. U.S. foreign aid to Africa was under attack for not doing more for the people rather than for the governments. The first President Bush promoted more private investment in Africa; Clinton offered duty-free exports to the U.S.; George W. Bush presided over a reduction in the spread of HIV and malaria, and promoted more democracy, environmental protection, and U.S. investment in power plants. President Obama, the son of an African, was able to speak truth to power in demanding the end of
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 10
corruption and encouraging greater democracy. His “power Africa” initiative motivated private companies to generate electricity and his “feed the future” campaign introduced more modern agricultural methods so that African nations would produce enough food for their own needs. The greatest challenges in Africa, according to Ambassador Cohen, are the rule of law, adequate security, safe contracts, and the reduction of corruption. These are the factors that discourage investment from foreign countries.And finally, what is the strategic importance of Africa to the United States? Africa could supply food for an increasing world population; it has a potential for manufacturing (for example, the manufacture of BMW’s and Mercedes in South Africa) with free imports to the U.S.; the threat of terrorism, as the Boko Haran and the Al Shabab, brings U.S. special forces to train Africans in several countries; and the threat of climate change, which has caused greater aridity to parts of Africa south of the Sahara, is a threat to agricultural production. Following the presentation, questions from the audience covered a variety of topics: Africa-China relations, the countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, the protection of wildlife from poachers, human trafficking, and the influence of France in its former colonies.
Black HistoryReserve Your Place For the 2017 Black History
CommemorationTravel with LWVRMA to the National African-American Museum of History and Culture, Washington, D. C., in commemoration of Black History Month. The LWVRMA will sponsor a bus trip to the museum on Saturday, February 25, 2017. As a non-profit organization, we were granted a visit on our traditional 4th Saturday in February, despite the museum's suspension of individual reservations until a future date. Our group passes are for 10 A.M. For a preview of what you will be able to see at the museum, go to https://nmaahc.si.edu/ and
scroll down to “Explore Full Collection.”The cost per person is $45.00, payable to LWVRMA. The museum has food for individual purchase, or bring your own lunch. The bus will leave James River Bus parking lot, 915 North Allen Avenue, Richmond, at 7:00 A.M. It will re-load at 3:00 P.M and depart at 3:30 P.M for the return to Richmond. For information and reservations, contact Mabel Wells, 804-367-7949 or Virginia Cowles, 804-353-0926.
Historical EndnoteKeir Sterling
Meghan Dorsett
Three years ago, Keir Sterling introduced the Historical Endnote to the Leaguer. It was a way of remembering and applauding women who had made important cultural, social, or political contributions to the American land-scape.
It seems appropriate then to remember and applaud Keir Brooks Sterling in the space he started. Keir and Anne Sterling have long been members of LWV-RMA, and Keir was the editor of The Leaguer from 2014 to early 2016. A professional historian, Keir brought humor and grace to the quarterly production of the newsletter, as well as a keen sense of irony and deep historical curiosity. In short, he was a real joy to work with, and I am both thankful for his friendship and deeply honored to have worked with him on the newsletter over the course of those two years. Thank you, Keir.
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 11
League of Women Voters of theRichmond Metropolitan AreaP.O. Box 225492Richmond VA 23260-5492
The LWV-RMA Leaguer December, 2016 Page 12
Mary Anne Stone
