Donna Brazile
1959 -
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: Political consultant
Occupation: college teacher
Donna Brazile made political history in 2000 as the first black woman to manage a major contender's presidential campaign. As campaign manager for Democrat Al Gore, Brazile further cemented her reputation as a talented political organizer. Ronald Walters, who has known Brazile since 1983, has worked with her on past campaigns, and is currently her colleague at the University of Maryland, said, "There are few black women in American who know the inner workings of national campaigns like Donna Brazile."
Brazile has developed that knowledge through years of experience on political campaigns. She has worked on numerous presidential campaigns, including Carter–Mondale in 1976 and 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson's first historic bid for the presidency in 1984, Mondale–Ferraro in 1984, U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt in 1988, Dukakis–Bensen in 1988, Clinton–Gore in 1992 and 1996; and Gore–Lieberman in 2000. In addition, she has worked on several senatorial, congressional and statewide political campaigns across the country.
Many laud Brazile as the best grassroots organizer around, but she has also won a reputation as a political loose cannon. Joyce Jones of Black Enterprise further described Brazile as "the kind of old–style liberal Republican love to hate; and her outspokenness often gets her into hot water."
Brazile was born near New Orleans, Louisiana in 1959, the third of nine children born to Lionel and Jean Brazile, who worked as a janitor and a maid, respectively. She was raised in extreme poverty in Kenner, Louisiana.
Brazile involved herself in politics when she was quite young. At age nine she organized a group of kids to campaign door–to–door for a city council candidate who promised a neighborhood playground, if elected. As a teenager, she volunteered for the Carter–Mondale presidential campaign in 1976 and again in 1980.
Brazile got involved in liberal civil–rights causes early in her career. While still a student at Louisiana State University, Brazil first gained national attention in 1981 as the national student coordinator for the Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday Committee, which successfully petitioned to make the civil rights leader's birthday a national holiday.
Then in 1983, after graduating from the university, Brazile accepted an offer from Coretta Scott King (Martin Luther King, Jr.'s widow) to help organize the 20th anniversary commemoration of the historic 1963 March on Washington.
During that time, Ronald Walters, her colleague at University of Maryland's Academy of Leadership, first met Brazile. He recalled, "I wondered, who was this young woman, just out of Louisiana State University, that Coretta Scott King had put in such a responsible job." Walters describes Brazile as "a personable young woman from a poor family in Louisiana [who] appeared to be well seasoned for someone not yet 25 years old." Walters recalled that even then Brazile exhibited qualities that would later contribute to her reputation as a talented field operative and grass–roots organizer. He said, "She had another set of indispensable tools for good organizers—a good natured, work–all–night, get–it–done attitude."
A year later, in 1984 Walters and Brazile worked together on Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. Walters recalled that in her position as Southern field director, "She learned about politics and black media buys, special events, targeted TV, advance and a host of other skills." According to Shawn Zeller of the National Journal, Brazile considers the Jackson campaign to have been a transforming experience and remains close to the civil rights leader.
In 1988, Brazile worked on Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. That she is widely credited in Democratic circles with helping Gephardt win the Iowa caucuses is another example of her talent for political organizing and successful get–out–the–vote efforts.
Later in 1988 Brazile worked on Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign, but was fired from the campaign staff shortly before the election. After Brazile urged reporters to investigate then Vice President George Bush's alleged marital infidelity, Dukakis fired her and apologized to his opponent. That incident marked the beginning of Brazile's reputation as a loose cannon.
After her experience in 1988, Brazile re–entered the political scene in 1990 as chief of staff (1990 to 1999) for Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's delegate to Congress. Norton told Joyce Jones of Black Enterprise that Brazile "is a political prodigy." Norton noted Brazile's photographic memory and extraordinary analytical skills when she told Jones, "Donna has the ability to look at a problem, see what everybody else misses, bring it all together and get it done."
During her tenure as Norton's chief of staff, Brazile designed and then ran the Democratic National Committee"s 1998 black voter turnout operation. This very successful effort was acknowledge as partially responsible for the Democrats' unexpected gains in the House that year as well as upset victories in several gubernatorial races in the South.
As a result of her successful 1998 efforts she became generally recognized for effectively coordinating and mobilizing Democratic constituencies. Brazile was subsequently named Gore's political director in 1999 and then later promoted to campaign manager. Her supporters said that she was an outspoken Gore defender and one of the party's most experienced grass–roots campaigners. But many of her critics claimed that Brazile was named as Gore's campaign manager merely to appeal to black and female voters.
According to Keith Moore, Brazile was brought in to "shake things up and inject new life into [a] lagging presidential campaign." Brazile shook things up indeed when, only three months after joining the Gore Campaign, Brazile allegedly "played the race card." Brazile charged that two well–known Republicans—a Congressman and a retired general—and their party "have no programs to feed poor children and would rather take pictures with them than feed them," according to Kevin Martin of New Visions Commentary.
While Bill Lynch Jr. of the Democratic National Committee thinks that Brazile can do anything in a political campaign, he told Keith Moore of Salon News that Brazile is best at grass–roots organizing and field operations. However, as Brazile has developed a reputation as a talented political organizer, she has also developed a reputation for courting controversy. Ironically, Brazile's penchant for outspokenness, some might say audaciousness, has garnered her a reputation as a tenacious political attack dog—exemplified by her role in the incidents in the 1988 Dukakis and 2000 Gore campaigns described above. These incidents as well as other experiences in political campaigns have marked the veteran political operative. Brazile told an audience at the Kennedy School of Government, "I have war stories. I have wounds too." But, she said, "It was worth it for the fight."
As Gore's campaign manager, Brazile said she would spend about one–third of her time on outreach activities. One example of her outreach efforts was in the summer of 2000 when, at the National Organization for Women (NOW) annual conference, Brazile spoke on grassroots organizing to maximize women's political power.
Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who worked with Brazile on Gephardt's effectiveness in the political arena to Joyce Jones of Black Enterprise He said of Brazile, "She's a great organizer. She's a great manager of people. and she understands politics."
Brazile has accomplished much outside political campaigns, For example, Brazile is a founder and the first executive director of the National Political Congress of Black Women. She is an adjunct professor of political science at the Academy of Leadership of the University of Maryland/College Park. As a senior fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Brazile led a weekly study group about the 2000 presidential campaign. Brazile also hosted and produced "A View From the Hill," a weekly talk radio program in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area.
Brazile is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious Congressional Black Caucus Youth Award, the National Women's Student Leadership Award, Ebony Magazine's Outstanding Young Achievers and Mirabella Magazine's "Top 25 Smartest Women in America."
Brazile's future plans include running for political office. She told an audience at the University of Virginia School of Law in the spring of 2001 that "[the] time will come soon." Later in 2001, Simeon Booker of Jet reported that Brazile considered running for a seat on the Washington, D.C. city council.
Donna Brazile has devoted decades to public service in a variety of areas, from the civil rights movement to political campaigns, from teaching to public speaking. Her devotion to public service colors has shaped her career and it continues to shape her message to others.
At a recent speech at the University of Virginia Law School, Brazile urged people to find time in their lives to do something for someone else. She urged them to find ways to reach common ground, and to make a difference in the lives of poor people in this country. Brazile shared her vision:
"We have learned from our mistakes and become a better country...we can make things happen if we believe and care and work to care and work to change our surroundings."
Further Reading
campaign_managers_022301.htm; accessed March 1, 2002.
donnabrazile.html; accessed March 1, 2002.