The Arlington County Democratic Committee is seeking a new name for its annual fundraising dinner.
The committee voted earlier this month to rename its Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.
Other local and state Democratic organizations have been renaming the traditional yearly Democratic dinner, since both former presidents were slaveholders and Jackson waged a bloody campaign to remove Native Americans from parts of the South.
From a press release:
The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner has been the historical name for the annual fundraising event held by Democratic Party organizations across the Country, including ACDC. The name honors Presidents Thomas Jefferson, who established the original Democratic-Republican Party, and Andrew Jackson, who founded the modern day Democratic Party and was the first Democrat elected President.
However, ACDC and many Democratic Party organizations across the nation, including the statewide parties in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, believe the name is not reflective of modern Democratic values, including those of inclusiveness, diversity and equality.
“We honor the history of our Party, but we take this important step to clearly communicate that our party values all people,” said ACDC Chair Kip Malinosky. “It is incredibly important to do at this time when many in the Republican Party are voicing support for deporting all undocumented immigrants and closing our doors to Muslim refugees, and some are introducing legislation to discriminate against them.”
“We want a creative and inspiring name that is reflective of Democratic values,” said Virginia Robinson, the dinner’s chairman for many years. “This is an opportunity for us to make history by looking forward.”
Arlington Democrats are now seeking suggestions for a new dinner name. ACDC members and other Democrats are invited to email suggestions to [email protected].
The deadline for submitting suggestions is Dec. 23. A panel of judges will select a new name and announce it at the Jan. 6 ACDC meeting.