The Montgomery Voter

February 2011

League of Women Voters of Montgomery (LWVM)

P.O. Box 231323, Montgomery, AL 36123-1323

334 264-VOTE or 334 270-0539

The Presidents’ Message

 Martha Blackwell and Anne Permaloff

Please join us for the General Meeting on the 16^th when our guest speaker will be Dr. Howard Robinson, Archivist for the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture at Alabama State University. His recent research and writing focuses on the Women’s Political Council (WPC) and its impact on the civil rights movement.  The WPC was founded in Montgomery in 1946. 

Bring a sack lunch to the meeting or order a Chappy’s box lunch by calling Ursula unolte@knology.net or 834-6541) by Monday the 14th.  A Chappy’s lunch costs $8.50, including tip.  Select from Chicken Fingers, Hoagie, 3-D Double-decker, or Chicken Salad Croissant.  Each comes with a pickle, side, chips and cookie. 

Iced tea and cookies will be available for everyone at no cost.  Guests are invited.

Now is the time to submit your Program ideas for next year.  Suggestions for filling Board offices are also due. Details on both are found in a later section of this Voter.  Members are encouraged to let the Nominating Committee know if they are interested in serving on the Board.

Think You Are Smarter Than A 4^th Grader?

Take This Black History Month Quiz and Find Out

(Answers will be given at the February General Meeting on the 16^th)

1. Which former slave and noted abolitionist edited and published "The North Star," an abolitionist newspaper?

            Phillis Wheatley
            Benjamin Banneker
            Frederick Douglass

      2.   The 15th Amendment, which granted African-Americans the right to vote, was     passed             on which date?

            February 3, 1870
            July 14, 1889
            November 19, 1910

      3.   Which civil rights activist gained notoriety in the late 19th century for her scathing           editorials denouncing racial injustice?

      Sojourner Truth
      Zora Neale Hurston
      Ida B. Wells

4.   Noted African-American intellectual and civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois was   a          founding member of which organization in 1910? 

      National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
      The National Negro Business League
      Southern Christian Leadership Conference

      5.  Which landmark Supreme Court case represented an important victory for the civil             rights movement in 1954?

      Plessy vs. Ferguson
      Dred Scott vs. Sandford
      Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka

6. Who is generally considered the mother of the civil rights movement?
   
   

      Harriet Tubman
      Susan B. Anthony
      Rosa Parks

7. Which of the following propelled Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence as a leader of the civil rights movement?

      He led the boycott (1955–56) by African-Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, against the segregated city bus lines.

      He organized the massive March on Washington (1963), at which he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

      He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1964) for his philosophy of nonviolent resistance.

8. On June 11, 1963, President Kennedy ordered the National Guard to ensure the     enrollment of two African-American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, at which university?

      University of Mississippi
      University of Chicago
      University of Alabama

9. What key event in the civil rights movement happened in 1964?

       Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

        Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.

        The Black Panther Party was formed.

10. The National Rainbow Coalition, a political organization uniting various minority groups, was formed in 1986 by which African-American political leader?

      General Colin Powell
      Louis Farrakhan
      Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.

LWVM Program Recommendations Due by March 1st

Program is considered the heart of League operations.  It includes statements of League positions on policy issues that have been adopted after careful study of the facts and major views on the issue followed by discussion by members to assess areas of consensus.  Based on the discussion, the Board determines the areas of consensus and the stated positions of the League. The LWVUS Program focuses on policy decided at the national level, the LWV of Alabama on the state level, and Local Leagues at their governmental level. 

Article IX of the LWVM Bylaws specifies the following on Program and how Program is adopted.

“Section 1. Principles.

The governmental principles adopted by the national convention and supported by the League as a whole constitute the authorization for the adoption of program.

Section 2. Program.

The program of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery, Inc. shall consist of:

  a.  action to implement the principles,

  b.  those local governmental issues chosen for concerted study and action.

Section 3. Action by the Annual Meeting.

The annual meeting shall act upon the program using the following procedures:

  a. The Board of Directors shall consider the recommendations sent in by the voting members two (2) months prior to the annual meeting and shall formulate a proposed program.

  b. The proposed program shall be sent to all members one (1) month before the annual meeting.

  c. A majority vote of voting members present and voting at the annual meeting shall be required for adoption of the subjects in the proposed program as presented to the annual meeting by the Board of Directors.

  d. Recommendations for program submitted by voting members two (2) months prior to the annual meeting but not recommended by the Board of Directors may be considered by the annual meeting provided that:

  1.  the annual meeting shall order consideration by a majority vote, and

  2.  the annual meeting shall adopt the item by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.

  e. Changes in the program, in the case of altered conditions, may be made provided:

       1.  the information concerning the proposed changes has been sent to all members at least two (2) weeks prior to a general membership meeting at which the change is to be discussed, and

       2.  final action by the membership is taken at a succeeding meeting.

Adding new program items shall be done following the above procedures.”

Recommendations from members to the Board may include:

1.      changes in existing Program wording if the changes are consistent with the original intent of the study and the consensus that generated the position being altered;

2.      deletion of existing Program positions; and/or

3.      recommendations for a new study to be undertaken by the LWVM.

Program for 2010-2011 may be found in the Annual Booklet supplied each member.

Please send all recommendations for program to Martha Blackwell (338 W. Rutgers Loop, Montgomery, AL 36109-3232) or Anne Permaloff (graftonpermaloff@charter.net or 637 Horseshoe Curve, Pike Road, AL 36064) by March 1st.

Nominating Committee Seeks Recommendations for 2011-2013

The 2011 Nominating Committee (Ursula Nolte, Chair – unolte@knology.net or 834-6541); Beverly Ross – Res. 281-9431; Wk. 420-4332; rossbd@bellsouth.net; and Helen Tavish – Res. 269-5207, cell: 201-8601) is seeking recommendations for the following offices which become vacant in May.  The committee must submit its recommendations to the LWVM Board by April 1^st.

The bylaws state that officers or directors must be voting members of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery, Inc.  Further, “No person shall be elected or appointed or shall continue to serve as an officer or director of this organization if that person is engaged in an activity which may tend to jeopardize the nonpartisan stand of the League of Women Voters.” (Article V, Section 2.)  The nonpartisanship policy is in the 2010-2011 Annual Booklet.

If you are interested in serving or wish to recommend someone else for nomination, please contact a member of the Nominating Committee. 

The offices that must be filled are:

President (2011-2013): Currently held jointly by Martha Blackwell and Anne Permaloff.

1^st Vice President (2011-2013): Currently held by Louvenia Graham.

Secretary (2010-2012): Currently vacant. This nomination would be for 1 year to complete the term.

Directors (2011-2013):  Three director slots. One is currently held by Roberta Collins; one has been vacated by Anna Blair’s move to Huntsville; the third is vacant.

The following positions for 2010-2012 are not up for election in May unless one of the officeholders accepts nomination to a 2011-2013 vacancy:  2^nd Vice President Ursula Nolte; Treasurer Holly Faems; Directors Anne Di Prizio, Truenetta Gambles, and Helen Tavish.

Gallup Poll Indicates “Americans Believe GOP Should Consider Tea Party Ideas”

In a January 31 article on Gallup.com, Lydia Saad reported that approximately 70% of national adults polled consider it “important that Republican leaders in Congress take the Tea Party movement's positions and objectives into account as they address the nation's problems.”   As the table below indicates, Republicans are strongest in this belief, followed by Independents.  Democrats are lowest in support but 52% say it is very or somewhat important that this be done.

According to Saad, “About half of Republicans, 52%, say they are supporters of the Tea Party movement.  Most others (43%) take no position on the movement, while 5% say they oppose it.”

“The Republican Party has a somewhat more favorable image nationally than does the Tea Party, and by the widest margin seen over the past year.  In the poll, 47% of Americans had a favorable opinion of the Republican Party compared with 39% holding a favorable view of the Tea Party movement.”

A January 27^th article by Jeffrey M. Jones used data from the same poll to report the public’s image of the Republican and Democratic Parties.  For the first time since 2005 the Republican imagery was more positive than negative.

Democratic Party imagery is slightly more negative than positive but improving.

Jones notes:  “Those ratings are a significant departure from what Gallup has historically measured for the Democratic Party, with generally more than 50% of Americans holding a favorable opinion, and ratings more positive than negative in all but a few polls.”

One implication of the patterns suggested by Jones is that:  “The two parties' ratings are now generally similar, suggesting they are starting off on relatively equal footing . . .  .  The parties made a show of bipartisanship at Tuesday's State of the Union by having their members sit together rather than in separate sections. Such attempts at working together likely would have a positive impact on how Americans view the two parties.”

Calendar of LWVM Events

Board Meetings – 1^st Wednesday of the Month; General Meetings – 3^rd Wednesday of the Month

Unless noted, all meetings are scheduled for the Church of the Ascension (315 Clanton Street).

February 16 – General Meeting:  Speaker – Dr. Howard Robinson – noon – 1 p.m.

February 19 – State Board Meeting, American Legion State Headquarters, Montgomery – 10 a.m.

March  2  –  LWVM Board Meeting – noon – 1 p.m.

March 16 –  General Meeting:  Speaker –  Anne Di Prizio.  Anne will speak on elder abuse, her dissertation topic.  She is working on a doctorate in public health.

April 6 –  LWVM Board Meeting – noon – 1 p.m.

April  20  –  General Meeting

May – State Convention – Date and Location TBA

May 18 – LWVM Annual Meeting – noon – 1:15 p.m.