Spelmanites Turned Lobbyists: Our First Annual Lobby Training
By Diana, Campus Organizer
On March 29, 2008, Spelman College hosted its First Annual Lobby Day Training sponsored by the Atlanta non-profit organization, Helping Our Teen Girls In Real Life Situations (H.O.T.G.I.R.L.S.) Inc., and Advocates for Youth. The two organizations worked in partnership to support SR 388, a State Senate Resolution, sponsored by Georgia State Senator Nan Orick, calling for the Georgia Legislature to support the federal Prevention First Act (H.R. 819/S. 21). If the federal bill passes, Georgia’s women’s clinics could receive additional funding to expand their health care services to more women in need.
The training began with an icebreaker exercise that instructed students to move to a place in the room where they felt they had the most power. Many students naturally walked to the front of the room, often standing behind a podium or on a stage. One Spelmanite, however, stood up on a ledge. Idia Egonmwan, a member of Advocates’ Young Woman of Color Leadership Council, gave an interesting explanation for her choice, “I feel that since I’m standing up here on a ledge, that people will naturally look my way, and wonder if I’m crazy. At the end of the day, I hold the most power, because I am the most different [compared to other participants and their respective locations around the room].” As the attendees went back to their seats, the atmosphere seemed cheery and I noticed that they were eager to learn the mechanics of lobbying.
Meheret “Mimi” Melles, Advocates Program Coordinator for the Youth Activist Network, was our keynote speaker and relayed a lot of information about the importance of advocating for one’s position. Many agreed that there is a lot of ‘talk’ and no ‘show’ when it comes to issues that affect youth, especially those of reproductive health. H.O.T.G.I.R.L.S. member, Salimah Bey, states, “Yes, I’m tired of talking. I want to do something!” This proactive mentality that inspires one to get involved with one’s community is sometimes lacking on Spelman College campus. Students conduct forums, participate in demonstrations and even mini rallies about issues that affect the African-American community. However, students are reluctant to journey further into politics or demonstrations in the public arena outside of Spelman’s gates either because they are afraid of the unknown or do not possess the proper training in successful advocacy. I was glad to see that a number of my peers showed up that morning to learn about the ‘hows’ and ‘whats’ of lobbying.
By the end of the training, H.O.T.G.I.R.L.S. members and partners were discussing how an advocacy component would help strengthen their respective campus organizations’ work. One freshman said, “I feel that this training, specifically the mock lobby day visits at the end, has prepared me enough that I can call myself a lobbyist.” Armed with information and packets for their congressional representatives, Spelmanites filed out of the auditorium, anxiously anticipating the actual lobby day visits later on that week.
We met Lobby Day on April 3rd with the same excitement and enthusiasm as we had when we left the training. We hit the street in our business attire, fresh faces, and an appetite for advocacy. At the Georgia State Capital, we met with two Georgia State Senators to discuss the Prevention First Act. Since both of our visits were with supporters, our small lobbying team decided to urge the legislators to reach out to the other members to gain more support to increase reproductive healthcare funding in the Atlanta area. We used what I feel was excellent rhetoric with persuasive tactics to get our State Senators to understand that Spelman women care about the welfare of our community, especially when it concerns African-American women and girls. The meetings were intensive and lasted over an hour. The consensus among the Spelman lobbying team was that our meeting was successful, because we raised awareness on an issue in the public arena with integrity.
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