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 Branch Fulani, born on April 25, 1950, is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She is well-known for her efforts in presidential campaigns and for creating programs that help young people from minority communities in New York City. In the 1988 United States presidential election, running with the New Alliance Party, she made history. She became the first woman and the first African American to be listed on the ballot in all fifty states for president. Fulani cares deeply about racial equality, gay rights, and making changes to politics, especially to support smaller political parties.

Since 1980, Fulani has worked closely with Fred Newman, a psychotherapist and activist from New York. Newman created a way of helping people called Social Therapy. Fulani, along with psychologist Lois Holzman, helped use this approach in programs for young people. One of the most famous is the All Stars Project in New York City, which she helped start in 1981.

Fulani also joined activists who supported Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election. Their goal was to create a new political party focused on reform. In 1994, she helped form the Committee for a Unified Independent Party (CUIP). She has also been active with the Independence Party of New York.

Early Life and Education

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 and then earned a master's degree from Columbia University's Teachers College. Later, 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. There, she studied how learning and social surroundings affect African-American youth.

During college, she became involved in black nationalist politics with her husband at the time, Richard. They both chose the name of the West African people, Fulani, as their last name when they married in a traditional West African ceremony. While studying at City University, Fulani became interested in the work of Fred Newman and Lois Holzman. They had recently started the New York Institute for Social Therapy and Research. Fulani studied at this Institute in the early 1980s.

Political Campaigns and Involvement

Fulani became very active in the New Alliance Party (NAP), which was founded by Fred Newman. She often spoke for the party. In 1982, Fulani ran for New York Lieutenant Governor on the NAP ticket. She was also involved in other groups led by Newman, like the Rainbow Alliance.

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

Presidential Campaigns

Fulani ran for president in 1988 as the candidate for the New Alliance Party. She received nearly a quarter of a million votes. 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 as a New Alliance candidate. She received over 31,000 votes.

Fulani ran again as the New Alliance candidate in the 1992 presidential election. She chose Maria Elizabeth Muñoz as her vice-presidential running mate. Fulani also published her autobiography, The Making of a Fringe Candidate, 1992, that year.

Working with Other Parties

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

During the 2000 presidential election, Fulani supported Pat Buchanan, who was running with the Reform Party. She even served as a co-chair for his campaign for a short time. Later, Fulani withdrew her support. She and Newman then supported the presidential campaign of Natural Law Party leader John Hagelin.

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, theater, and telemarketing.

In 2005, the Independence Party of New York removed Fulani and other members from the New York City chapter. This happened during a disagreement between members from different parts of New York and the group led by Newman and Fulani. Some party members disagreed with the ideas of Newman and Fulani. The party's state chairman, Frank MacKay, said this action happened after Fulani would not take back a statement that some people found offensive. Fulani said she did not mean for her statement to be offensive and wanted to discuss important issues. However, she later said the remarks were "excessive" and publicly apologized to "any people who had been hurt by them."

Community Work and Youth Programs

Fulani has worked on many community projects and programs that help young people grow. In 1984, she helped start the Castillo Cultural Center in New York City. This center mainly puts on plays written by Newman. In 1998, the Castillo Center joined with the All Stars Project, a charity for youth.

Fulani has been very active in creating 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 in cities. They use a performance model to help kids learn and grow. Fulani explained her approach in Derrick Bell's 2004 book Silent Covenants:

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.

In 2004, a play called Crown Heights by the All Stars/Castillo theater group caused some discussion. The play showed events from the 1991 riots in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. These riots happened after a car accident involving a rabbi's motorcade accidentally killed a seven-year-old child. This accident sparked tensions in the community. During the street violence, a visiting student was tragically killed.

Images for kids

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  Lenora Fulani, a psychologist and political activist.