Civic Engagement Headlines
Courts and Chief Justices Around the Country Echo Chief Justice Beasley’s Call
I wanted to make sure you saw this article from the Wall Street Journal that was published over the weekend. I have been overwhelmed with the response to my recent comments from judicial officials all across the country. I am
Read MoreNHCDP Town Hall With All Five Court Of Appeals Candidates
Court of Appeals Town Hall — June 1st When: Monday, June 1st, 7 p.m. Where: Zoom Town Hall for all five Democratic Court of Appeals candidates. The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the state’s intermediate appellate court. Currently 15 judges hear cases in
Read MoreVoter Education, Registration & Mobilization Resources
NC Voting Resources Confirm your voter registration: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ Online Voter Registration/ Adjust Current Registration: https://www.www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online/Pages/voter-registration-application.aspx Requesting a NC Absentee Ballot / Vote By Mail: https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/Absentee-Voting Facts about voting after you’ve been convicted of a crime: https://www.ncvoter.org/been-locked-up/ https://www.ncsbe.gov/Portals/0/Documents/VotingRightsGuide_CriminalJusticeSystem.pdf Facts about voter
Read MoreFederal Lawsuit Filed Challenging Kentucky Requirements Putting Black Voters in Harm’s Way During Pandemic
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Kentucky and Covington & Burling filed a federal lawsuit today over Kentucky’s failure to take appropriate action to ensure eligible voters can safely
Read MoreEconomic Agenda Purposed by the HUB Inclusion Coalition and NC NAACP – GDN Exclusive
The NC HUB Coalition and the NAACP economic development committee are convening a series of virtual conferences to address issues that impact HUB (MWBE) businesses. High on the agenda is the creation of the “Support Our HUBs” campaign. Months ago,
Read MoreDear Michelle – A Greater Diversity News Exclusive
All hail the reluctant ruler! It is no joke that the people we all want in power are those who do not seek it. If you could win the presidency, would you? Notice that there is no should. Anyone who
Read MoreVoter Suppression Goes to College – GDN Student Engagement Exclusive
If preliminary data estimates on the recent 2020 primaries in North Carolina are accurate, student voters on HBCU campuses must raise their turnout game come the general election this November. So says Dr. William Busa, founder of EQV Analytics, a
Read MoreVoting Key to Addressing Issues, Say NAACP Youth – GDN Student Engagement Special
If black college and high school students want a greater voice in the issues that directly affect them, they will need to become politically active, and vote…
Read MoreGOP-Connected Group Created Fake Erica Smith Ads
A Republican connected super political action committee (PAC) out of Washington, D.C. called “Faith and Power,” is spending over $1.6 million in television and radio ads running in four North Carolina television markets promoting State Senator Erica Smith’s candidacy for
Read MoreUNC System Association of Student Government Senior VP Supports “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive Vol. 3 Part IV
Raekwon Davis, 22, is the Senior Vice President of the UNC System Association of Student Government (UNCASG). One of the missions of the UNCASG is to address student voter participation. Mr. Davis, a senior and political science major at North
Read More2020 Voter Mobilization Forum: “Educate, Organize and Mobilize” – GDN Exclusive Vol. 3 Part III
Watch the January 25, 2020 Voter Mobilization Forum click here: The message was clear. Starting with the March 3rd primaries and ending in the November 6th General Elections, North Carolina’s African American community – the target of numerous voter suppression
Read MoreVIDEO for 2020 “A Call to Colors” Voter Mobilization Forum
Video Matrix The Pitt County HBCU Coalition, the Pitt County Chapter of the Shaw University National Alumni Association and the Pitt County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, present The 2020 “A Call to Colors (ACTC) Voter Mobilization
Read MoreThe National Council of Negro Women Supports and Sponsors “A Call to Colors” January 25th Voter Mobilization Forum a GDN Special
Watch the live Voter Mobilization Forum event on January 25, 2020 at https://9c5996605f.nxcli.net/live In the Spring of 2019, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole convened a meeting of National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) affiliate leaders. Two dozen officers of leading national women’s
Read MoreSupport for 2020 “A Call to Colors” Voter Mobilization Forum January 25 – GDN Exclusive Vol. 3 Part 2
When it comes to voter education, registration, and organization, it will be the forum that beats all forums. Its goal is to institutionalize voter mobilization as a standing initiative in black leadership organizations, nationwide. The Pitt County HBCU Coalition,
Read MoreChief Justice Beasley Knows Civic Engagement Works – GDN Exclusive, Vol. 3 Part 1
It was a year ago next month, on February 12th, 2019, that Governor Roy Cooper made history by appointing NC Associate Justice Cheri Beasley as the 29th Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court – the first African American woman
Read MoreGDN Profiles: Winfall, NC Mayor Fred Yates Says Future Looks Bright
North Carolina towns are doing what they can to attract more industries, small businesses, retail chains and investors so that more jobs can be created. Winfall is no different …
Read MoreFederal Judge to Block NC Voter ID Law Temporarily as the Lawsuit Continues
North Carolina voters might not have to show a photo ID in the 2020 elections, due to a ruling in federal court that’s expected in the coming days. A federal judge in North Carolina said Thursday she would block
Read MoreHow Small Town Mayor Joyce Whichard-Brown Is Making Main Street Vibrant Again and Getting Businesses Back
WILLIAMSTON, N.C. – Whichard-Brown says she and the town council want to make Williamston “vibrant again,” which means addressing all of the vacant buildings on Main Street, getting businesses to come back, hire and operate like they used to.
Read MoreRepublicans Pass Future Act to Help HBCUs, Minority-Serving Institutions
The President put his signature on the Future Act, legislation that for the time includes HBCUs in the federal 5-year STEM Education Plan and the National Research and Development Budget Priorities. “When I took office, I promised to fight for
Read MoreNCABCO President Endorses Financial Support For Greater Diversity News’ “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive, Vol. II, Part XXVIII
Saying that “…collective power incites collective action, the president of the North Carolina Association of Black County Officials [NCABCO] has come out with strong support for Greater Diversity News’ “A Call to Colors” [ACTC] voter education, registration and mobilization campaign.
Read MoreNC Black Alliance Announces Support for “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive, Vol. II, Part XXVI
Saying that “There is no time better than now, specifically in North Carolina, for like-minded organizations to align our approach to voter education and registration,” NC Senator Valerie Foushee (D-District 23-Chatham, Orange), chairwoman of the NC Black Alliance, has announced
Read MoreDivine Nine Organizations Prepare For 2020 Elections – GDN Exclusive, Vol. II, Part XXVI
It should be no secret that the fraternities and sororities that proudly make up the Divine Nine plan to assist in turning out the African American vote in 2020 – one of the most crucial elections in our lifetimes –
Read MoreVoting Could Be the Problem With Democracy
Around the globe, citizens of many democracies are worried that their governments are not doing what the people want. When voters pick representatives to engage in democracy, they hope they are picking people who will understand and respond to constituents’ needs.
Read MoreVoters Often Parrot the Party Line, Even When Polls Suggest Otherwise
Over time, political science has learned which types of questions are informative and which are not, based on models of public opinion.
Read MoreAggie SGA-AG Pushes Campus Student Voter Engagement – GDN Exclusive, Vol. II, Part XXIV
Brenda Caldwell is the attorney general for N.C. A&T University’s Student Government Association. But the Greensboro native, junior and Political Science major has also, since the beginning of the semester in August, registered 388 students to vote, mostly freshmen, and
Read MoreWhat Matters 2020 – Issues That Impact Minority Communities
In an exclusive interview, Cullors tells the NNPA Newswire that BLM was invited to attend the third installment of the Democratic Presidential Debate…
Read MoreAct Now: The Senate Bill 250 Is Bad for Voters and Immigrants – Take Action Now
The North Carolina General Assembly is at it again attacking the right to vote and people who are immigrants in one fell swoop. Your state representative is about to vote on a bill that could result in registered voters being improperly removed from the voter rolls
Read MoreNPHC Council of Presidents Announced Strategic Priorities Supporting Viability of the African American Community
The nine historically Black Greek-Lettered Organizations, recently announced its annual strategic priorities that will guide its collective efforts to address systemic issues affecting the viability of the African American community.
Read MoreN.C. House Completes Bipartisan Redistricting Process to Approve Randomly Selected Computer Generated Maps
The state House approved its own maps on Friday by a bipartisan supermajority vote of 68-42 for 13 of 14 county groupings, and a 60-50 vote on a single grouping considered in a separate vote.
Read MoreFederal Court Blocks Tennessee Law That Restricts Voter Registration Efforts
Judge Aleta A. Trauger issued an opinion granting a preliminary injunction in Tennessee N.A.A.C.P v. Hargett, enjoining a new Tennessee law that threatens criminal and civil penalties on civic engagement organizations that conduct voter registration drives, both informal and formal, at local community events.
Read MoreNCCU PACE Committee Leading the Way With: “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive, Vol. II, Part XXIII
Students are being orientated not only to the importance of voting, and that many of the issues of today do, in fact, affect them, but that they also have a voting precinct on campus…
Read MoreDivine Nine Groups to Register Student Voters at Football Games – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XXIII
When the Eagles of North Carolina Central University face off in their home opener against the Vikings of Elizabeth City State University on Sept. 21st at Durham’s O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, all of the important action won’t just be on the
Read MoreKEMBA Center Leader Endorses “A Call to Colors” Civic Engagement – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XXII
Rev. Connors indicated that he was already planning to reach out to the pastors of larger church facilities affiliated with KEMBA Center in those districts, about allowing the NC Board of Elections to conduct training sessions…
Read MoreAfter Over 24 Years Imprisoned, Dontae Sharpe Freed
A black man, wrongly tried and convicted at age 19 of a murder 25 years ago he did not commit, was finally released from prison two weeks ago, thanks to the tireless efforts of his mother…
Read More17 Million Voters Purged Nationwide Between 2016 and 2018
A Brennan Center analysis has found that at least 17 million voters were purged nationwide between 2016 and 2018, similar to the numbers discovered between 2014 and 2016.
Read MorePastor Jay on “A Call to Colors” – “We’re in it Together” – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XXI
What role would faith-based community institutions like mosques, temples and churches play in nonpartisan “A Call to Colors” civic engagement strategies to empower the African American community…
Read MoreThere’s Cause for Both Concern and Optimism When it Comes to Democracy
What strikes me most about this discussion of a global decline in democratic norms and values, however, is how little coverage has gone to places where democracy remains robust.
Read MoreThe Way Forward For “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive – “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XX
It has been almost a month since the momentous August 3rd National HBCU Alumni Associations Foundation Civic Engagement & Advocacy Committee (CEAC) Summit at NCCU School of Law in Durham.
Read MoreHow Democrats Can Win Back Labor Unions and the Workers They Represent in 2020
The 2016 presidential election revealed just how much that has changed. Hillary Clinton lost in key battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin in part because she took labor support for granted.
Read MoreThe Divine Nine Models For Civic Engagement – A GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XIX
“We encourage you to be civic-minded and be active in the community before you even join any of our [D9] organizations,’ “Brent said, she went on to explain that most D9 members began their careers at the HBCU level.
Read MoreMemphis Women’s Political Caucus Debuts With Election-Season Focus
Described as a multi-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all levels of government…
Read MoreThe NC NAACP Model – A GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XVIII
Alston says what Publisher Peter Grear and Greater Diversity News (GDN) are trying to accomplish with “A Call to Colors” is very similar to the mission of the NC NAACP. August 3rd “A Call to Colors” Summit received high marks on its presentations.
Read MoreSenate Staff Diversity Among Democratic Presidential Candidates
On July 11, 2019, the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus released diversity data on the U.S. Senate personal and committee office staff of each of their Members. This analysis examines data of the staff in the personal offices of the seven
Read MoreSt. Joseph A.M.E.’s New Pastor Believes in Civic Engagement – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XVII
DURHAM, N.C. – He is the 31st pastor of St. Joseph African Methodist Episcopal Church, a predominately black church with 150 years of distinguished history, service to the community, and social justice activism. Having been appointed to lead St. Joseph’s
Read MoreNCCU Alumni Summit Focuses on “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II, Part XVI
When the National Historically Black College and Alumni Association’s Fifth Annual Alumni Leaders Conference convenes Saturday, August 3rd at North Carolina Central University’s School of Law, its theme will be “Strategically Sustain the Future of HBCUs through Alumni Advocacy.” But
Read MoreECSU Student Civic Engagement Ramping up for 2020 Elections – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II Part XV
Ramsey proudly touts what the campus NAACP does in promoting voting and voter registration drives at the beginning of the school year.
Read MoreDear Candidates, During Election Season Here Is What Black People Want: Meaningful Engagement
andidates and their campaigns are comfortable talking at black people, but few want to talk to us. This limits our ability to influence their decisions and policies. And it’s a bad strategy…
Read MoreThe Key to Representative Democracy? Persuasion
I am lucky enough these days to be in regular touch with young people — students — who are interested in public service. I find hope in their quality, energy, and motivation, and they press me to think more deeply…
Read MoreAlpha Phi Alpha President, Everett Ward, Pushes Voter Mobilization Efforts – GDN Exclusive “A Call to Colors” Vol. II Part XIV
The time is now for historically black Greek organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council to claim their important roles in nonpartisan voter registration, education, and ultimately mobilization.
Read More
INSPIRITATION or FEAR? Engaging Black Voters
(republished archive from 4/7/2016) Between now and the November 2016 General Elections my articles will largely be focused on voter suppression and economic inclusion. This week we’ll take a look at the results of voter suppression laws in Arizona, North
Read More