In less than two weeks, dozens of voter organizers will converge in Virginia for Southern Solidarity Summer. This Solidarity Brigade will work to win progress and power for Virginia’s new progressive majority. We’ll share with you an in-depth look at our Solidarity Brigadistas that are committed to fighting for real change here in Virginia!
Dwayne Wright, Solidarity Brigadista!
We interviewed Dwayne Wright first, a 23 year-old Brigadista from New York that recently graduated from Norfolk State University and is determined to make a difference in VA this summer.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Port-of-Spain in Trinidad & Tobago. We moved to Caracas, Venezuela when I was very young, but I’ve grown up primarily in Brooklyn, NY.
Why are you excited to be a part of this?
I’m a true believer in equality. What we’re trying to do with the emerging majority in Virginia is extremely important and I feel very committed to it. As time passes and we all evolve, we have to maximize our potential as a country and people. Anyway I can help to create progress and move in that direction, I want to do it.
Who is your organizer hero?
Huey P. Newton, founder of Black Panther Party. He was such an important figure and I’m inspired by how he was always evolving.
What is one talent your fellow voter organizers will be surprised to learn about?
I speak Arabic, I’m a web designer though you wouldn’t know it from looking at my experience on paper, and I’m very good skater, as in roller skating and skateboarding. I love doing tricks like they do in the X Games.
Why do you think voter organizing is an important way to build power?
By voting, you don’t just demonstrate the strength of your own voice. When we vote as a bloc or community, we determine policy and outcomes. If we don’t organize ourselves as voters, our voices and votes are not as powerful. I did some volunteer work with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s campaigns. Those campaigns were not focused on issues, they’re focused on the candidate. No matter how good that candidate is, it doesn’t create lasting change unless we can talk to people about real issues impacting their lives, and unless they can organize themselves to speak with one voice.
Why do you think Virginia is such an important place for communities of color, women, and working-class people to organize?
Virginia is a bellwether state. It’s a mix of many things: it’s the South and the old capitol of the Confederacy, but it’s connected to the north and is only 4 hours away from New York; it was the birthplace of our founding documents and our democracy and is a state built on Slave labor; it’s one of the original centers of growth in colonial times, and NoVA is a major center of population growth through immigration today. Having said that, I’m excited to learn more about Virginia. I’ve been in Hampton Roads for 4 years, but working in the rest of the state is gonna be new for me. I think that election results in Virginia have a lot to show the rest of the country about where we’re headed, and if we can win, we can show what our new majority is really capable of.
How do you think this will have an impact in your community or on your life?
I’ve been really blessed to go to great schools my whole life and to live and work in this country. I don’t think about this work in terms of what I’m going to get out of it. The big question for me is about how I’m gonna give back to my community. For the rest of my life I’m gonna be involved in campaigns and political change, so this is exactly the experience I want to be a part of.
What makes you nervous or scared about this experience?
My religious beliefs teach me that everything that happens is God’s will, so I’m not scared. I’m anxious to get started, get it done, and do some great reflection so I can learn a lot from my time here.
Thanks Dwayne! Stay tuned for another up-close look at one of our Brigadistas.
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