Lenora Fulani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lenora Fulani
Born	Lenora Branch (1950-04-25) April 25, 1950 (age 75) Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Hofstra University
Occupation	Psychotherapist, psychologist, political activist
Political party	New Alliance Party (1988–1992), Independence Party of New York

Lenora Fulani (born April 25, 1950) is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She is well known for her campaigns for president and for creating programs that help young people in minority communities in New York City.

In the 1988 United States presidential election, she ran with the New Alliance Party. She made history by becoming the first woman and the first African American to be on the ballot in all fifty states. This means her name appeared as a choice for voters in every state across the country. Lenora Fulani cares deeply about racial equality, gay rights, and making changes to politics to help smaller political parties.

Since 1980, Fulani has worked closely with Fred Newman, who is also a psychotherapist and political activist. Newman often managed her political campaigns. Together with psychologist Lois Holzman, Fulani helped create youth programs. One of the most famous is the All Stars Project in New York City, which she helped start in 1981.

Fulani also joined other activists who supported Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election. They worked to create a new political party focused on making changes. Later, she became active with the Independence Party of New York.

Lenora Fulani's Early Life

Lenora Branch was born in 1950 in Chester, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest daughter of Pearl, a nurse, and Charles Branch, who worked for the railway. Her father passed away when she was 12 years old. As a teenager in the 1960s, Fulani was active in her local church, where she played piano for the choir. She graduated from Chester High School.

In 1967, Fulani received a scholarship to study at Hofstra University in New York. She graduated in 1971. She then earned a master's degree from Columbia University's Teachers College. In the late 1970s, she earned a PhD in developmental psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY). From 1973 to 1977, Fulani was a guest researcher at Rockefeller University. She studied how learning and social environments affect African-American youth.

While in college, she became involved in black nationalist politics. She and her husband at the time, Richard, adopted the name of the West African people Fulani as their surname. During her studies at City University, Fulani became interested in the work of Fred Newman and Lois Holzman. She studied at their New York Institute for Social Therapy and Research in the early 1980s.

Running for Office: Electoral Politics

Fulani became very active in the New Alliance Party (NAP), which was started by Fred Newman. In 1982, Fulani ran for New York Lieutenant Governor with the NAP.

She helped find the NAP's presidential candidate in 1984, Dennis L. Serrette. He was an African-American trade union activist.

Presidential Campaigns

Fulani ran for president in 1988 as the New Alliance Party candidate. She received almost a quarter of a million votes. This was a very important election for her. She was the first African-American, independent, and female presidential candidate to be on the ballot in all 50 states.

In the 1990 New York gubernatorial election, Fulani ran for governor of New York. She received over 31,000 votes.

Fulani ran for president again in the 1992 United States presidential election. This time, she received 0.07% of the vote. Her running mate for vice-president was Maria Elizabeth Muñoz. In 1992, Fulani also wrote her autobiography, The Making of a Fringe Candidate, 1992.

Working with Other Parties

In 1994, Fulani and Newman joined the Patriot Party. This party was one of many groups that later tried to gain control of the Reform Party, which was started by Ross Perot. Fulani also helped start the Committee for a Unified Independent Party (CUIP). This group aimed to bring together independent political groups to challenge the two main parties in American politics.

During the 2000 United States presidential election, Fulani supported Pat Buchanan, who was running with the Reform Party. She even worked as a co-chair for his campaign for a short time. However, Fulani later withdrew her support. She then endorsed Natural Law Party leader John Hagelin for president.

In the 2001 New York City mayoral election, Fulani supported the Republican candidate Michael Bloomberg. She helped organize members of the Independence Party in New York City to work for his campaign. After Bloomberg was elected, he approved money to help Fulani and Newman build a new center for their youth program.

In 2005, there were disagreements within the Independence Party of New York. Lenora Fulani and other members from New York City were removed from the party's State Executive Committee. This was part of a power struggle between different groups within the party. The party's state chairman, Frank MacKay, claimed this happened because Fulani refused to take back a statement that some people found offensive. However, court cases brought against nearly 200 Independence Party members were dismissed. One judge even said the charges were "more political than philosophical."

Fulani later formed a group to support Michael Bloomberg's re-election campaign for mayor. Local newspapers described this group as including "union officials, clergy, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, district leaders and others who work at the grassroots level."

Community Work and Youth Programs

Lenora Fulani has dedicated much of her time to community outreach and programs for young people. In 1984, she helped create the Castillo Cultural Center in New York City. This center mainly produces plays written by Fred Newman.

In 1998, the Castillo Center joined with the All Stars Project, a charity for youth. This expanded the reach of Newman's work. Fulani has been very active in developing educational programs linked to the All Stars Project. These include the Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth and the All Stars Talent Show Network. These programs offer enriching experiences outside of school for young people from low-income areas. They use a performance model to help kids grow.

Fulani explained her approach in a book by Derrick Bell called Silent Covenants: Brown V. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform:

We teach young people to use performance skills to become more cosmopolitan and sophisticated—to interact with the worlds of Wall Street, with business and the arts. In becoming more cosmopolitan—in going beyond their narrow and parochial and largely nationalistic identities—they acquire a motivation to learn as a part of consistently creating and recreating their lives.

Images for kids

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  Lenora Fulani, a psychologist and political activist.