Richard Barnett
Richard Barnett...
IVI-IPO Activist
In June 1980, Richard Barnett stood as a candidate for the position of at large Delegate to the Board at the Annual Convention of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization.[1]
In 1981 Richard Barnett was on the Board of Directors of Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization[2].
Paul Robeson 100th Birthday Committee
In 1998 Richard Barnett was listed as a volunteer and intern of Paul Robeson 100th Birthday Committee.[3]
Lozano tribute
About 250 family, friends, colleagues and inspired young activists who gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago June 2008, 25 years after Rudy Lozano's murder at age 31, to celebrate his short but influential life.
Several speakers, including former state senator Chuy Garcia and Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd), credited Lozano with fighting for improved education, labor reform and minority representation in city government. Many said he was a crucial ambassador in forging a relationship between Latino and black voters that helped elect Harold Washington as the city's first black mayor in 1983.
Richard Barnett, an aide on Washington's mayoral campaign, said it was people like Lozano who built the foundation for Barack Obama's historic run for the presidency.
"You have to have the grass-roots grunt work done, then you can have Barack Obama," Barnett said. "That grunt work was done by Rudy and other folks of that era. If you want something, you have to fight for it, and that was Rudy."[4]
References
- ↑ IVI-IPO Annual Convention Poster
- ↑ IVI-IPO Letterhead July 23 1981
- ↑ http://www.cpsr.cs.uchicago.edu/robeson/links/chicago/ack_org6.html
- ↑ Hundreds pay tribute to activist slain in 1983, Chicago Tribune , Rudy Lozano fought for minority interests and built consensus June 23, 2008|By Robert Mitchum