A Message from our President

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our website. We are still making changes to the site, but our officers, meeting dates and membership information is available.

During the course of the year we want to engage you in a regular series of discussions about the role of African Americans in American politics. Our discussions would include such topics as the roles and opportunities for African American elected officials in the State of Maryland. We want to be a catalyst for illuminating the importance of redistricting, which has begun for the County Council, the School Board and the State, where congressional and legislative districts will be redrawn. That process is enormously important to the African American community and to all communities, with a 10-year impact. We also hope to give you an opportunity to hear from legislators before and after each legislative session.

With a majority African American population in the County, and with a specific focus on the participation of African Americans in the political process, these and other issues of maximizing citizens’ voice in the democratic process are at the heart of the mission of the African American Democratic Club of Prince George’s County. We clearly have a population of citizens who understands the importance of voting, but our goal must be to strengthen our voting voice by registering every voting-age resident. Some will say that the community should not facilitate registration of the County’s high school students, but what could be a better lesson in government?

Prince George’s voters cast a total of 211,930 votes for governor in 2011 and more for the winner than any other jurisdiction in the state. Showing up to deliver that many votes says that the issues that matter to us should be at the top of the agenda, that we are a community that is actively engaged in the democratic process and that we are dependable voters. That dependability is a powerful tool for those we elect to negotiate our best interests. Our votes are a source of their strength; they know that, but do we? The question we must ask ourselves, regardless of Party affiliation, is: what is the return on our vote-casting investment?

Former Congressman Walter Fauntroy, from the District of Columbia, once told me that, “… politics is the science of who gets what and how much of income, housing, healthcare, education and justice.” How much of each our community gets is directly related to how actively we are engaged in the process.

Please go to our website www.aadcpgc.org and join us. Together, we can maximize the power of our voice, our vote.

Sharon Taylor