Howard Dean and Ken Mehlman both spoke at the convention of lay leaders in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/politics/3283652Dean acknowledged that black voters' reliable loyalty to his party had cost them influence. He vowed to change that.
"I know that the Democratic Party has not done what it should do," he said. "We have taken African-Americans for granted, and that was wrong."
Mehlman apologized also.
The DNC has a lot of the text of Dean's speech, and this part impressed me.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/07/excerpts_of_dnc.php""Although we work on different paths, we are united by many of our common goals...
"Our values are far closer than some would have us believe...
"I want to talk to you about what Democrats stand for, and why we are Democrats. We believe that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. We want to bring people together around the common good, and we have a strong belief in the fundamental value of community...
"Many in the political arena want to distort moral values for their own purposes and ignore what's really important. Universally throughout multiple religions and faiths, the idea of reciprocity and treating your neighbor as you want to be treated is a basic tenet...
"I am not a preacher. That is not my calling. But in my public role as Chair of the Democratic Party and in my private role as citizen, I believe that I and we collectively are called to serve one another...
"You can not lift up your fellow man by cutting education programs such as Head Start, Pell grants, or by cutting community development block grants. You can not lift up your fellow man by cutting job training, and Social Security, and small business opportunities. And you can't lift up your country, if you cater to the lower laurels of human nature by using a political strategy that divides Americans by race or religious denomination to win elections..."END SNIP..
Dean and Jesse Jackson will be speakers next week in Birmingham.
Dean to speak at Southern Christian Leadership Conference on August 2 in Birmingham.
http://sclcnational.org/net/content/item.aspx?s=31691.0.12.2607Labor Solidarity Breakfast
Speaker: Rev. Jessie Jackson, Founding President and CEO of Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Sheraton Birmingham Hotel Ballroom
7:00 AM
Human Rights Luncheon
Speaker: Howard Dean, Chairman – National Democratic Party
Sheraton Birmingham Hotel Ballroom
12:30 PM
Rally to Support Security Workers with SEIU
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex - East Meeting Room
2:30 PM