QCC hails our Organizer in Chief

Quick, what’s the link between the White House and Charlottesville’s Jefferson School? If you said “community organizing,” you got it right.

“It just meant the world to me to see a community organizer recognized in the national arena,” said Karen Waters, executive director of the Quality Community Council, last Tuesday night. “So often, with my family and friends, I have to explain what I do, and now they all know what community organizing is.”

Waters’ group, a nonprofit, citizen-driven community coalition dedicated to improving the quality of life in Charlottesville’s neighborhoods, hosted some 300 people for a dinner and dance party to celebrate the inauguration of the Organizer in Chief. And President Barack Obama’s image was everywhere on view that night at the Jefferson School, and not just on the TV sets that replayed the speech from earlier in the day. I had been wondering what happened to the big Obama mural that once welcomed the public to the campaign office on the Downtown Mall. I found myself staring at it inside the Jefferson School, and the irony of being in a place that is a standing symbol of Charlottesville’s segregationist past, was, I bet, lost on few. And there were even more reminders of how times have changed: Obama keychains, clothing, and a life-sized cardboard cutout that at one point earned a hearty hug from Waters as if it were the man himself, the 44th president of these United States.

Obama worked with the people of Chicago’s Southside, and similarly QCC knocked on about 300 doors in the city’s public housing projects, reaching out and registering people to vote. “We made change,” Waters declared, when taking the stage to introduce the night’s program. Platters of cheesy lasagna sent warm, comforting aromas through the crowd and then, with the swearing-in playing on the big TV, Nickie Hill clapped her hands and declared, “Hallelujah!”  There were more than a few tears rolling down cheeks all around the tables where most everyone was seated. “It’s just awesome. It’s just wonderful. It’s a historic moment. I am just lost for words, because for so long we have been waiting for this,” Hill says, choking back tears. “I am just excited for what’s to come. We have a bright future.”

Michael “Bigup” Stewart predicts change will be the hallmark of the next four years. “To have someone who really seems to want to listen to the American people and says that we really need change, it means more than words can say,” he says. Stewart, a restaurant worker who says he’s the only black on the staff, finds in that fact another link between him and Obama. “At times I feel like I have to work twice as hard, because I might come in with a hat or a do-rag and I am subject to preconceived notions of what they think I may be,” he says. “But when you put forth the hard work, it speaks for itself.”

Time for tears was at that point over, as the DJ called on all those in the room to get up and hug the person standing next to them. In the midst of “Thank you Jesus!” and “Hallelujahs,” the funk portion of the evening began. Earlier, The Righteous Friendz, a reggae band had filled the space with good vibrations. To the tunes of Sister Sledge’s “We are Family,” Delegate David Toscano took a spin on the dance floor with Waters until they were overwhelmed by the Conga line that was prompted by Kool and The Gang’s “Celebration.”

Around the same moment when the Obamas were serenaded by Beyoncé with an a cappella rendition of Etta James’ “At Last,” the Carver Recreation Center in the Jefferson School was uplifted by the commanding sounds of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Young and old, black and white, volunteers and elected officials—all present stood up and joined the courageous still-few on the dance floor. Waters stepped back and observed in awe. “I am so pleased of the diversity of the crowd,” she said with evident pride. “One thing about Charlottesville, people are really willing to work together, to do things together and that is really exciting.”