NPR : Ray Salazar: What the Debates Might Have Been

NPR : Ray Salazar: What the Debates Might Have Been (citing Delores Huerta): “Activists deal with immediate issues, a school closing, or a referendum. Organizers, on the other hand, deal with long term change, like ending discrimination or ensuring basic rights.”

Salazar points out that the 140 audience members at last week’s the “town hall meeting” in St. Louis were overwhelmingly white, even though only 43 percent of that city’s population are white while 51 percent are black, so issues like the DREAM Act—which addresses the future of our immigrant youth—were never brought up.

“Senator Kerry and President Bush are activists, who want us to address the immediate issue of the election. But the country needs to choose the organizer: that candidate concerned with our country’s inequalities beyond his days in office."