Democratic Party activist and TV commentator Donna Brazile stressed the "force of change" in a speech at North Carolina Central University on Nov. 16.

Starting with greetings sent from President Obama and the first lady, Brazile relayed a message from the president:"NCCU is always going to be first in my book." This attention grabber elated the audience,  which followed up with a round of applause.

Neka Jones/The Campus Echo

Donna Brazile at NCCU

"We must be determined to move forward. We're not going to lose our faith," said Brazile.

"We're not going to give up even though the Republicans have the House."

"When we vote we can change the world. When we don't vote — guard everything. When we step up and tell America, they'll stand beside us because we are force of change."

She said Democrats going out to vote and winning the White House was the reason the U.S. avoided a deeper depression.

"Get a spine on your back bone and stand on his [Obama's] lap!" Brazile said.

She talked extensively about the influence her grandmother had on her.

One of her favorite scriptures from her grandmother that she shared was Galatians 6:9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

At the end of the speech she answered questions, gave advice to high school and college students with political aspirations.

She took the time to encourage a high school student who aspired to be a judge, and an NCCU student who said he had lost faith in the political system.

"I enjoyed it.  It was a good amount of people," said Cedrick Coleman, mass communication junior.

"She touched on a lot as far as Democratic political views and the objectives of the Tea Party and Republicans."

Brazile, an alumna of Louisiana State University, is the third of nine children. She began her political career at the tender age of nine working to support the campaign of a city council candidate.

The candidate promised to build a playground in her neighborhood if elected. The candidate won and the playground was built. This, Brazile said, sparked her interest in a political career.

One of the highlights of her career has been running the presidential campaign of former Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

She was the first African American woman ever to manage a presidential campaign. Some of her many achievements include, Weekly Contributor and Political commentator on CNN's The Situation Room" and "American Morning."

Jonathan Alexander writes for The Campus Echo, the NCCU student newspaper, which originally published this article.