A BBQ and a Rainy Weekend

On Saturday, Jorge and  a number of campaign volunteers went to a community cookout hosted by The Greensboro HIVE. The HIVE stands for History, Information, Vision, Exchange and is located on Grove Street in the Glenwood neighborhood.  The event drew a large crowd which met inside due to the rain.  During the BBQ, organizers facillitated a discussion of what the HIVE means to people and what they’d like to see it grow into.  Jorge talked with many of the people in attendance, and one volunteered to help drive voters to the polls this week for early voting and offered his experience canvassing for the Obama campaign throughout Greensboro.  Unfortunately, we don’t have any pictures to share from the event.

The bad weather Friday and Saturday interfered with some of the campaign’s plans, but not with taking voters to the polls.  Campaign volunteers helped dozens of people get to the polls, and one enthusiastic supporter helped roughly 10 of her friends get out and vote for Jorge as well.  This is in addition to another strong supporter (who also isn’t part of the campaign) who brought out 10 friends the day before, and over 20 other folks who were driven to the polls Friday. Like the rest of the week, campaign volunteers walked voters to the Board of Elections and gave them directions to go later if necessary. 

Jorge playing touch football last fall in Center City Park

 

Also this weekend, meetings were set up with two City Council members and two other at large candidates.

Keeping Busy Like Nobody’s Business

Jorge talking with folks in District 2 (recently emailed to our campaign)

Jorge and the rest of The Campaign to Elect Jorge Cornell have been very busy recently, and are producing tangible results.  Volunteers drove and directed roughly 30 people to vote for Jorge Thursday.  In addition, strong supporter Ms. Stover (pictured below with Jorge over the summer) told him she was able to turn out 10 people to vote for him Thursday as well.  Though official numbers aren’t available, it is clear to The Campaign that voter turnout in support of Jorge has been overwhelming this week and shows no sign of slowing. 

Jorge with the Stovers over the summer

Campaign volunteers have been hard at work, distributing hundreds of informational flyers.  A volunteer has been working diligently this week designing and ordering 5,000 informational cards for door-to-door campaigning in addition to the material we already have.  Another volunteer set up meetings with two current City Council members for next week.

Thursday afternoon, Jorge was able to catch the end of the groundbreaking for the Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children’s Museum.  Though he had to pick up his daughters across town, he raced down to the groundbreaking event, which included numerous elected officials and famous author and educator Alice Waters.  The Edible Schoolyard is designed to teach children about health and where food comes from. 

Jorge was back out campaigning at night.

Standing Against Homophobia and Hatred

Wednesday night Jorge participated in a vigil organized by Guilford College students that was organized to bring the community together after two targeted acts of homophobia.  A student living on campus has received repeated harassment and violent statements because of sexual orientation.  After contacting event organizers to ask if it would be appropriate for him to attend and say a few words, Jorge went to the event to speak out against all hate crimes and forms of discrimination.  He already had a relationship with a number of the students organizing and attending the event.

Jorge drew parallels between attacks he has endured because he is Latino to attacks that the LGBTQI community faces daily.  He came to the event to show that bigotry, hatred, and violence (verbal or direct) have no place in our City and that people need to unite across differences to overcome such hateful acts.  Many students approached Jorge afterwards and thanked him for his words of support and for coming to the event, and a number said they would go vote for him the next day.  Pictures will soon be available from the event.

Earlier in the day, Jorge spoke with a number of people downtown about his campaign for City Council and a number of the folks he talked to immediately went to vote for him afterwards.  Campaign volunteers also coordinated other people to go vote Wednesday as well.

As part of the candidate forum Tuesday night, Jorge spoke out against the proposed reopening of the White Street Landfill.  Below you can watch the video of his exact response.  We will be posting his other statements to YouTube soon.

Tuesday’s Candidate Forum

Tuesday night, Jorge participated in the City Council candidate forum hosted by Guilford Unity Effort.  Almost all at large candidates were in attendance, and audience members also heard from District 2 candidates and the District 5 challenger Art Boyett (Trudy Wade could not make it).  A previous forum hosted by Guilford Unity Effort included Districts 1, 3, and 4.  After the event, Jorge talked with a number of attendees and new supporters.  Reporter Jessica Jones covered the event as part of a continuing story about Jorge’s campaign by North Carolina Public Radio WUNC.  Below is a video of Jorge’s closing statement at the forum.  More videos of his responses to questions will be posted shortly, so check back on our YouTube page.  You can also read the transcript of Jorge’s comments last night on YES! Weekly’s blog.

Early voting continued yesterday, and campaign volunteers continued to organize trips to the polls for Jorge’s supporters.

Two New Videos, Six Carloads

Above is the video from Friday’s Candlelight March Against Racism & Violence.  More people participated than pictured because they were passing out informational flyers on the other side of the street.  Below, you can watch the video from one of the Prayer & Justice Marches held on Tuesdays.  We’re posting these videos because Jorge participated in both of them and the footage was taken by a campaign volunteer.  To see the full video, click on the title of this post and watch it there. 

Since early voting began on Thursday, campaign volunteers have driven six carloads of people to vote down at the Board of Elections.  They’ve also helped at least three other cars get there on their own by providing information and directions.  More carpools are scheduled throughout this week.

Also, yard signs are coming soon- make sure to email us at cornellforcouncil@gmail.com if you want a yard sign and we don’t have your information yet.

Candlelight March Against Racism & Violence

Joe Frierson speaking into the megaphone at the beginning of the event

Despite the weather, roughly 65 people gathered at the Beloved Community Center Friday night to participate in a candlelight march against racism and violence in Greensboro.  The event was designed to draw attention to different examples of structural racism and violence in the City and work to build a network of people to turn the direction of the City around.  The majority of the people who came were young folks, including students from at least three colleges and four local high schools.  Similar to the Justice & Prayer walks organized by the Beloved Community Center, people walked single file down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Elm Street while distributing informational material. 

Jorge standing in a circle with folks after the march

When the event reached Festival Park, participants stood in a circle and observed a moment of silence to those that had been lost due to violence and those that suffer regularly from the burden of racism.  A number of attendees spoke, including Jorge Cornell.  When asked, a large number of participants said this was the first event like this they’d ever been a part of.  After the event was over, Jorge and one of his campaign managers spoke for a while with a reporter from North Carolina Public Radio who was covering the event.  Video will be available soon.

First Time Voting, Rooftop Party

Jorge voting for the first time

 On Thursday, the first day of early voting for the primary election, Jorge went down to the Board of Elections and voted for the first time.  He lives in District 1, so he voted at large and in his District.  Prior to this, he did not take much interest in electoral politics.  As Jorge explains, he has only seen politicians in his community when its election time and usually not even then.  When he realized he could run for office he was excited, because he saw it as an opportunity to participate in the political process and bring the people’s voice to City Council, which is not represented.  Jorge was accompanied by roughly ten supporters who all cast their ballots as well.  Other supporters voted earlier in the day.

Later that night to kickoff the early voting period, he gathered with campaign volunteers at Pizzeria L’Italiano on Elm Street to celebrate.  Afterwards, he attended an event hosted by Face to Face on the roof of the Kress building downtown.  The rooftop provided a beautiful view of the City at night, and Jorge talked with a number of the primarily 20-30 somethings in attendance.  Candidates Ryan Shell (at large) and Jay Ovittore (District 3) were also present.  Jorge was invited to the event by one of the organizers after she heard him speak last week about Black-Brown unity.

The view of Greensboro from the roof of the Kress building on Elm Street

On Wednesday, The Campaign to Elect Jorge Cornell held a planning meeting, specifically to discuss voter outreach and fundraising.  While Jorge was out of his house at the mid-afternoon meeting, his home was broken into and belongings were rearranged, though nothing was taken.  The homes of two close associates were also broken into and tampered with in the same time frame.  Valuables left in plain sight were not taken and nothing was broken.  These events are highly suspicious and concerning, particularly if it is an attempt to intimidate the candidate or create divisions within the campaign.  As always, the campaign will continue and we look forward to a strong turn out for early voting and beyond!  Greensboro has tremendous untapped potential, and we will continue to be committed to social justice and community improvement.

Early Voting Begins Tomorrow!

Time flies! Early voting begins tomorrow, and we want to make sure that nobody misses their opportunity to vote! Early voting for the City Council primary will be held this Thursday and Friday and then again M-F for the next two weeks from 8 am -5pm every day. Plan your schedule now and don’t let this important election slip by you!

Roughly 7% of registered voters in Greensboro actually turn out for City Council elections.  That means that over 93% of people in Greensboro who are already registered don’t even make it to the polls.  This is not including people who are eligible to vote and are not even registered.  Make sure your voice is recorded and get down to the Board of Elections to vote early!

THE GOOD NEWS:

Even if you aren’t registered to vote yet, at one stop early voting you can register the same day, just make sure to bring all the required information.  Check out the Guilford County Board of Elections website to make sure you’ve got everything you need!

All early voting happens at the Board of Elections office at 301 West Market Street in downtown Greensboro.

Building Unity and Community

Jorge with other panelists from Saturday's discussion on Black-Brown Unity

Saturday morning, Jorge spoke on a panel about building Black-Brown unity, specifically in Greensboro.  He addressed his experiences, work, and thoughts about how to build community through alliances between oppressed people.  Other panelists brought their expertise as well, representing an array of backgrounds but sharing a similar perspective about ways in which to create much needed change. The panel was primarily for Bonner Scholars, a community service program at Guilford College.

Jorge has been working to improve Black-Brown relations for a long time, including his recent involvement in a Black-Brown Conference last October and his daily work with a variety of communities working for peace.

Jorge speaking at Strong Community Unity Day in Festival Park

Afterwards, Jorge went to Strong Community Unity Day, an event in Festival Park downtown designed to bring Greensboro together.  Non-profits had tables with information about how people could get involved to serve and improve their community, and attendees listened to music and speakers from the stage.  The event was organized by UPT Brotherhood, a network building community, pride, and strength.  Jorge was invited to speak by event organizers, and he talked about the need for people to hold their government accountable and participate in the political process.  After he spoke, Reverend Nelson Johnson delivered a passionate speech in support of Jorge Cornell for City Council and addressing the Paradigm Shift.

Reverend Johnson speaking in support of Jorge at Strong Community Unity Day

There were a variety of musical performances, poetry readings, and speakers throughout the day, including Mayor Johnson.  After the event, Jorge and Reverend Johnson were interviewed by North Carolina Public Radio WUNC.

The Press is Paying Attention

On Saturday, Jorge was interviewed by North Carolina Public Radio (NCPR) WUNC for a radio segment on his campaign for City Council at large.  Jessica Jones, a reporter for NPR, interviewed Jorge, Reverend Johnson, members of the Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation, and campaign manager Eric Ginsburg.  Jorge has already been interviewed by local NPR affiliate WFDD, but WUNC has a larger listener base and is based in Chapel Hill.

Reverend Johnson talking to NCPR-WUNC about why he supports Jorge Cornell for City Council

Also this week, The Guilfordian published a story about how interested and involved Guilford College students are in the campaign.  Here’s an excerpt from the article (emphasis our own), but please check out the full article, which includes a video of the interview.

“Jorge Cornell’s sincerity and openness to transformation and new ideas is something rarely seen today and while I generally disapprove of politics in general, I feel that what he brings to the table is worth getting involved with,” said Cornell supporter Damian Popkin.

But Cornell is about more than his campaign for social justice- for him, it is really all about unification. He has been known to come to Guilford just to play touch football or soccer and generally be together with the students.

“That’s the only way we’re going to get the system off our back – by coming together as one community,” said Cornell. “One body, one mind, one soul, one heartbeat.”