Iowa Democrats plan to rename Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

CEDAR RAPIDS - A long-running Democratic Party tradition - the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner - will get a new name.

The Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee voted Saturday to begin the process to change the name because Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were slave owners and Jackson conducted a prolonged, violent campaign against Cherokee Indians that some call genocide.

'This was not a decision that was made lightly,” according to IDP Chairwoman Andy McGuire.

'The vote today confirms that our party believes it is important to change the name of the dinner to align with the values of our modern day Democratic Party: inclusiveness, diversity and equality” she said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

After considerable discussion, the State Central Committee voted overwhelmingly, but not unanimously, to change the name, a party spokesman said.

The J-J Dinner has been one of the most popular IDP activities over the years, serving as a fundraiser, a time to honor party leaders and as a showcase for presidential hopefuls. For example, then-Sen. Barack Obama's speech at the 2007 Iowa Jefferson Jackson dinner helped launch him to victory over John Edwards and Hillary Clinton in Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses.

However, in recent months, several state Democratic parties have dropped the name because of although the former presidents are credited as the forefathers of the Modern Democratic Party, they also were slaveholders. They are among 12 slaveholders to be elected president.

The list includes Georgia, Missouri, Maine and Connecticut. In New Hampshire, host of the first-in-the-nation primary election, the party is considering a similar change. Tennessee, Jackson's home state, is considering a name change, too.

While others spoke in favor of maintaining the tradition and the Jefferson-Jackson brand, Joe Stutler of Marion said he thought it was important to recognize that not all traditions are positive.

'Traditions can be fixed. We used to have slavery, but we fixed that,” he said after the meeting.

An ad hoc committee was appointed to talk to Iowa Democrats about the name change and make recommendations to the Central Committee, McGuire said. The plan is for the new name to be announced after the Oct. 24 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines.