By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® will bring state officials and community members together Oct. 17 for a free public policy forum focused on voter education, civic engagement and state and local issues affecting Washington residents.
The Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Seattle and Zeta Omega Omega Chapter of Tacoma will host the joint forum at Highline College in Des Moines. Doors will open at 9 a.m. with light breakfast refreshments, followed by the program from 10 a.m. to noon in Building 7, 2400 S. 240th St.
Organizers say the forum is intended in part to encourage residents to remain engaged with government outside of presidential election years.
Dr. Saunjah S. Brantley, president of the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter, said decisions made by state and local elected officials can have a direct impact on people’s everyday lives.
“People get super excited about the presidential elections,” said Brantley. “And what we’ve learned over the years as a community is that when you are informed about those who are at the state level and at the local level, you get more clear that their decisions impact your local experience, people who are elected to school boards, etc.”
Brantley said the chapters want to encourage people to remain informed and involved even when a presidential race isn’t dominating the political conversation. She pointed to public policy forums and the sorority’s participation in African American Legislative Day in Olympia as ways of maintaining that engagement.
“We feel like that was a gap that needed to be closed,” said Brantley. “Because when it’s not a major presidential election, we’ve seen that people are not as consistent with staying informed. They’re not as consistent with their voting. And so, it’s more important to create some form of a steady drumbeat, even if it’s something like a public policy forum that becomes a prompt that says I need to pay attention.”
For Brantley, the goal is to make civic participation something residents incorporate into their lives rather than an activity reserved for major election cycles.
“Our goal is to help people become informed, engaged, and empowered to participate in the civic process on a regular basis. To make it just a part of how they live and operate,” said Brantley.
The forum is being organized under the direction of the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter’s Connection and Social Action Committee and will include presentations and discussions about state government, public policy and voting.
RoTonya Carr, chair of the Connection and Social Action Committee and event co-chair, said understanding how government policies are developed and whom to contact about them can help residents communicate their priorities to public officials.
“It’s important for our community because there are so many policies that impact all of us every day, and we are all impacted by policies in different ways, quite frankly,” said Carr. “So the more people know about how to advance policies that matter to them, who to reach out to for questions about policies that they care about, and how to express their voice be it through conversation, communication, or by ballot, the better I think our whole society can be in reflecting those various viewpoints.”
According to organizers, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is scheduled to welcome attendees through prerecorded video remarks. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is scheduled to appear in person and provide an overview of his office’s work and legal and policy issues affecting state residents.
Sarah Spikes, representing the Washington Secretary of State’s Office in voter education, is scheduled to discuss Washington’s election process and federal developments related to voting. State Reps. Jamila Taylor of the 30th Legislative District and Edwin Obras of the 33rd Legislative District are scheduled to participate in the legislative portion of the program, which will include a community question-and-answer session.
“A successful day would look like people getting to know who their public officials are and all the various ways that they serve us,” said Carr. “We hope that people leave feeling a sense of empowerment that the public officials are here to work for all of us Washingtonians.”
Founded in 1908 at Howard University, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® has a long history of community service. The Seattle and Tacoma chapters continue that work locally through social action, education and voter engagement initiatives.
The Oct. 17 forum is free and open to the public. Advance registration is encouraged to help organizers plan for attendance. Doors open at 9 a.m. for light breakfast refreshments, with the formal program running from 10 a.m. to noon at Highline College, Building 7, 2400 S. 240th St. in Des Moines.
“If people want to learn more about how they can become more civically engaged and if they want to learn more about the various parts of our state that influence their lives, this would be a wonderful forum to attend,” said Carr. “It’s a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning with the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.”
