Congressman Filner has represented California’s 51st district in the San Diego area for 10 terms, following distinguished service in San Diego city government. He spoke powerfully about his early participation in the 1961 Freedom Rides. As an 18 year old Freshman at Cornell University, Filner was compelled to join the Freedom Rides by the Mothers Day firebombing of a Trailways bus carrying Freedom Riders. He recounted his father’s role in liberating the concentration camps at the end of World War II and his father’s subsequent role in helping support the early efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King to expand the civil rights struggle in the mid-1955. He urged the dinner guests to continue to engage in non-violent action to bring greater justice to our society.

Congressman Moran spoke about the current political situation and the importance of continued vigilance in bringing attention to the record of Republicans in the current Congress. Congressman Moran highlighted the need for Eighth District Democrats to do all they can to help maintain the Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate.

Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille welcomed the dinner participants to Alexandria and highlighted the importance of the election ahead. Many Northern Virginia Democratic leaders participated in the dinner, including State Senators Mary Margaret Whipple, Janet Howell, George Barker and Toddy Puller. Delegates Mark Sickles, Patrick Hope, Ken Plum, and Charniele Herring were among the House of Delegates members participating in the dinner. Many current and former local elected officials participated in the dinner.

Eighth District Democrats were pleased this year to have many Young Democrats participate in the dinner, including a number of YDs from the Washington-Lee High School Young Democrats Club, who ably assisted with dinner registration responsibilities.

The Eighth District Democratic Committee thanks its supporters for their participation in the dinner. Watch your e-mail for the 19th annual dinner in September, 2012.

• Friday, October 28th
• 2:30-3:30 private reception
• 3:30-4:30 general reception

At the home of Dorothy and Terry McAuliffe (7527 Old Dominion Dr, McLean, VA 22102; map, click here).

Virginia’s General Assembly elections are only three weeks away, and we need to do everything to keep this year’s crop of Tea Party extremists out of the state Senate. With the Governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates both controlled by Republicans, our majority in the Senate is the only thing standing in the way of the Tea Party’s extreme ideological agenda that will cost us jobs and decimate the Commonwealth’s education system.

We can’t let these radical Tea Partiers turn back all the progress we’ve made. Please join President Clinton and Terry McAuliffe for a reception on Friday, October 28th – your support will help give Virginia Democrats the resources and grassroots energy they need to prevent a Tea Party majority in the state Senate.

If you can’t make it, please consider contributing online, click here – even just $5 can make a big difference this November.

RSVPs preferred by noon on October 27, 2011: online (direct, click here or VASenateDems.com) or phone (Will: 804-396-3961).

“Some men see things as they are and ask why? I see things that never were and ask why not?” Robert Kennedy’s words, spoken in hope, mirror those spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial when he shared his dream with the world in 1963.

The annual Virginia Kennedy-King dinner, sponsored by the Eighth Congressional District Democratic Committee, celebrates Robert Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision. It is an event to honor those Virginians who strive to make the hopes and dreams of these two great leaders a reality. It is a time to reflect on how both of these men continue to touch our lives as Democrats and live in our hearts as Virginians. The monies raised by the event go towards our effort to support Virginia’s Democrats.

Featuring a Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Historic 1961 Freedom Rides that Changed America

• Hilton Alexandria Mark Center (5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22311; map / directions, click here)
• Thursday, October 13, 2011
• 6:30 PM Reception 7:30 PM Dinner cash bar

Margo E. Horner, Eighth District Democratic Committee Chair
Mame Reiley, Honorary Dinner Chair
Charley Conrad and Dan Steen, Dinner Co-Chairs, and
The Members of Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District Democratic Committee
Cordially Invite You to Attend Virginia’s Eighteenth Kennedy-King Dinner

• $100 per person ($90 for YD’s or seniors); $150 Benefactor; $200 Sponsor; Patron $250; $1000 Table (10 seats per table); $1500 Benefactor Table (10 seats per table); $2000 Sponsor Table (10 seats per table); $2500 Patron Table (10 seats per table)
• The event is going “green” this year – online registration and payment are encouraged.
• Online, click here.
• By mail – download flyer / mail reservation form. Reservations by mail must be received by Friday, October 6th.

Resources and Links About the 1961 Freedom Riders
Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia (of 1960). The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961, and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17.

• Wikipedia
• NPR: Get On the Bus: The Freedom Riders of 1961 (an interview with Raymond Arsenault, author of ‘Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice‘)
• Freedom Riders Foundation
• PBS/WGBH: Freedom Riders on the American Experience and Facebook companion page
• Library of Congress, American Treasures (AP news release and map)
• Smithsonian, National Museum of American History (information, videos, teachers guide, etc.)

Our Keynote Speaker, Congressman Bob Filner
Congressman Bob Filner is the U.S. Representative for California’s 51st congressional district, and previously the 50th, serving since 1993, and Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation.

Filner began his advocacy for civil rights at the age of 18 when he became one of the first people to set foot on a Greyhound bus that was headed into the deep south on what would become known as, the Freedom Rides. At the time he was a student at Cornell University where he was studying engineering. In June 1961, after pulling into the bus station in Jackson, Mississippi, Filner was arrested along with his co-riders for “disturbing the peace and inciting a riot”. It was there in Jackson, that Filner would stand up for what he believed in by not taking the easy road out. Filner refused to post bond in for his release and remained incarcerated in prison for two months.

His case was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States along with all the cases for other activists. It was when this happened, that they also overturned the laws for racial separation. This overturning of the case was nothing that Filner was pushing for though. Filner believes that what he did during that Freedom Ride is what he needed to do to have a say in what was happening. In Filner’s own words he says “I’ve never been a passive person”. “I’ve always felt that, if you think something should be changed, it’s your responsibility to actively pursue that change.”

• Official Web Site
• Bob Filner for Congress
• Wikipedia
• Facebook
• Twitter

Authorized and paid for by the Eighth District Democratic Committee, Margo Horner, Chair.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Due to Congressman Moran’s involvement in this event, federal limitations apply. Individuals may contribute a combined limit of $10,000 to all state, district and local party committees per calendar year. PACs may contribute a combined limit of $5,000 to all state, district and local party committees per calendar year. Contributions from unions, corporations, national banks, federal government contractors and foreign nationals not admitted for permanent residence are prohibited. Federal law requires political committees to report name, address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contribution aggregate is in excess of $200 per cycle. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Where

When
July 14, 2011  7-9:00 pm, (program begins at 7:30 pm)

VA Partisans PAC 2011 Fundraiser: 40 for 40 – Keep the Senate Blue! This is a critical election year for LGBT Democrats in Virginia. The only thing standing between us and the policies of Ken Cuccinelli and Bob Marshall is the Virginia State Senate. We MUST keep the Senate blue and every seat is critical. Join us in this battle and help us meet our goal of raising $40,000 for 40 Senate seats.

Details

• Introductory Remarks by Senator Donald McEachin and Keynote Address by Terry McAuliffe
• Straw polls for the 30th and 31st Senate District Races
• Catered by Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant
• General Tickets $40 – Young Dems $20; Host Committee Levels: Friend = $140; Supporter = $240; Sponsor = $440; Patron = $1,040; Benefactor = $2,040; President’s Club = $4,040; Host Committee sponsorship package details at www.lgbtvadem.org.
• Join the Host Committee and Purchase Tickets Online, In-Person (cash, check or credit card at the event) or by Mail (mail to VA Partisans, P.O. Box 3266, Merrifield VA 22116; checks made payable to: Virginia Partisans Federal PAC).

Questions? Please email president@vapartisans.org or call (508) 245-7581.