Wiki donna brazile biography

During her late twenties Brazile reevaluated her life. She gave up smoking and red meat, began exercising, and quickly shed forty-five pounds. For almost a year Brazile lived at Snyder's Community for Creative Non-Violence, the shelter where her office was located. In Brazile became chief of staff for Eleanor Holmes Norton , who represents the District of Columbia as a nonvoting member of the U.

House of Representatives , a job she held for the next several years. The program was a great success, and a solid number of Democratic candidates were elected to Congress that year. Brazile began working for the Gore for President campaign in the spring of when its offices were still on K Street, also called "Lobbyists' Row," in the heart of Washington, DC.

Initially she served as Gore's national political director and deputy campaign manager. In October of Brazile was late for a staff meeting at which Gore was scheduled to make an important announcement. When the elevator doors opened, her colleagues accosted her, telling her that Gore wanted to meet with her privately. She assumed she was about to be fired again.

Gore, however, offered her a promotion to campaign manager. By accepting the position, Brazile became the first African-American woman to head a presidential campaign. I look forward to working with her in her new capacity and I know she will fight hard to bring this campaign closer to the working families of America," Gore remarked. Upon learning of Brazile's promotion, the press was quick to point out that Brazile had been fired from the Dukakis campaign several years earlier.

As Katharine E. Seelye wrote in the New York Times, however, "Gore's appointment of her indicates he has little concern about it [the firing over the George Bush fracas]. The appointment of Brazile as campaign manager sent the message that Gore—unlike some of his predecessors—realized that what is termed "the black vote" does not automatically go to the Democratic candidate.

The principal focus of Brazile's job was to develop strategies that would help Gore win the White House. To help accomplish this task, she worked closely with campaign chairman Tony Coelho and Gore media advisers Carter Eskew and Bob Shrum. In the New York Times report, Bennet explained the nature of the job of Brazile, who had sketched for the reporter a triangle diagram: three phrases on each point read "proven leader," "principled fighter," and "experience that matters.

Throughout the campaign, Brazile contended that the current state of political campaigns, with their reliance on polls and highly paid consultants, was ineffective in bringing together voters on the issues. She believed it was all about grassroots organizing, and the candidates' commitment to their principles. Gore lost the presidential election to George W.

Bush in one of the closest races in history, the outcome hinging on a Supreme Court decision regarding the handling of ballots cast in Florida. While the election was a defeat for Brazile, it did nothing to slow the ascent of her political stardom. In the wake of the election she accepted a lecturer position at Harvard, and later another at Georgetown.

During the midterm election season, she traveled to more than half of the states to help train Democratic activists. After the elections she worked for a period of time for Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana, as a media consultant and organizer. In she enjoyed the publication of her book, Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, in which she recounted the story of her rise from poor Louisiana girl to the very pinnacle of American power.

Brazile also began appearing regularly on several of the most popular political television talk shows. The Democratic presidential primary put Brazile in an interesting position: Should she support the potential first woman president or the potential first Black president? As a highly visible member of the party machinery, she opted to endorse neither candidate before the nomination was decided.

But that did not stop her from making her voice heard loud and clear throughout the campaign. She was particularly harsh in her criticism of the media on its handling of both race and gender matters. Election outcomes aside, Brazile's voice will likely be a prominent one in the Democratic chorus for years to come. Petersburg Times St. Petersburg , FL , June 27, , p.

People History U. History: Biographies Donna Brazile. Brazile, Donna — gale. Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia. Brazile, Donna gale. Donna Brazile — Political strategist, commentator, educator In the fall of Vice President Al Gore named veteran Democratic Party organizer Donna Brazile as his campaign manager for the presidential campaign.

Became a Youthful Activist Brazile has often stressed that she grew up in an impoverished household, and remembering the hardships of her youth inspired her to become active in politics. Endured Dukakis Debacle When Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis defeated Gephardt for the Democratic presidential nomination in the summer of , Brazile was hired by his campaign organization for the same post that she had held on Gephardt's senior staff—organizing the "field," which involved marshaling votes by setting up and running efficient, dedicated local efforts, such as phone banks.

Encountered More Hardship Following her resignation from the Dukakis campaign, Brazile found herself without a job. Sources Periodicals Black Enterprise, February , p. Brazile is 61 years old as of Brazile serves at ABC News as a contributor. In a just and equal world, Ms. Brazile has dedicated her life to fighting for social reform, a responsible government, and the advancement of all women.

American author, educator, and political activist and strategist born Early life [ edit ]. Political strategist [ edit ]. Democratic National Committee service [ edit ]. Sharing debate questions with Clinton campaign [ edit ]. Other work [ edit ]. University teaching and affiliations [ edit ].

Wiki donna brazile biography

Commentator [ edit ]. Author [ edit ]. Hacks: The Inside Story [ edit ]. Main article: Hacks: The Inside Story. Acting [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Executive producer ; Head writer January 5, Finding Your Roots. Season 3. Episode 1. United States: U. Archived from the original on October 25, Retrieved October 17, USA Today.

McLean, Virginia : Gannett Company. May 23, Retrieved May 1, Fox News. March 18, Retrieved March 20, October 31, Retrieved November 2, Gold, Hadas October 31, Guthrie, Marisa October 31, Archived from the original on October 27, KLFY News. Retrieved December 12, Retrieved November 19, United States: Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 21, Retrieved October 20, Oxford University Press.

ISBN May 2, Retrieved November 10, New York City : Random House. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco : Hearst Corporation. Donna is 63 years old as of In addition, she celebrates her birthday on December 15th every year. Brazile gained interest in politics at the age of nine when a local candidate for office promised to build a neighborhood playground.

Kennedy School of Government.