Support For Elaine

Detroit Greens Resolution on Elaine Brown

Detroit Greens are in solidarity with Elaine Brown. She is a prominent African-American political leader, author and thinker who joined the Green Party of Georgia, ran for office, and offered her candidacy to the Green Party for president in 2008. Now, she has renounced her membership and resigned from the presidential campaign. Her life-long devotion to ending racial oppression and commitment to revolutionary political struggle was not respected in the Green Party. An opportunity to work on transforming the Green Party into an organization where Elaine Brown, and the hundreds of fighters like her across the United States, are welcome and respected was lost. She was badly treated by some leaders and other members of the party.

We urge the Steering Committee, representing the Green Party, to apologize, in writing, to Elaine Brown for slanderous and demeaning comments about her character that were made by a staff member. A follow-up phone call by a member of the Steering Committee would also be in order. This apology to Elaine Brown should consist of something like the following:

We apologize for inexcusable and unsubstantiated comments that were made by a GP staff person and echoed by others. We can understand how demoralizing it must be for you with your long history in the social justice struggle. Such comments are unacceptable and are ammunition for those who seek to destroy attempts to develop independent political action.

We seek avenues to restart collaboration with you because we believe that, whether you are part of the Green Party or stand outside, we need to work together on social justice issues as well as finding ways to build a movement for independent political action.

The Detroit Greens express our deep regrets for comments unbecoming of movement activists which were completely insensitive to you as an African-American woman who has spent most of your life fighting for social justice.