Civic Engagement Headlines
The News & Observer: Wake County N.C. Districts Struck Down But Too Late
The districts for four N.C. House seats in Wake County will have to be redrawn again before the 2020 elections, a court ordered Friday morning in yet another loss in a gerrymandering…
Read MoreRun to Your Designated Precinct and Vote
For conducting your civic duties, on behalf of those who actually died without the opportunities to ever vote simply because of their race, creed, color, age, gender, or citizenship status, you deserve a tremendous round-of-applause… Carefully research the candidates whose ideas most closely resemble yours.
Read MoreWhat’s at stake in Florida on Election Day? Maintaining Political Balance
Locally, this election could result in Florida gaining its first Black governor and attorney general, the restoration of voting rights to ex-felons, new legislation to improve blighted Black communities…
Read MoreLucy McBath: Mother on a Mission
A woman who has spent the last six years lobbying Georgia’s Congressional, State House and State Senate delegations to enact common sense gun violence prevention laws could very well have continued in that vein.
Read MoreA Wave Of African American Women Elected In Tennessee | All In | MSNBC
Historically diverse candidates running in this year’s midterms is happening from coast to coast, up and down the ticket. The result is especially clear in one particular area of Tennessee in the South Shelby County…
Read MoreProgressive Groups Join Forces to Ensure Voting Rights and End Corporate Sabotage of Common Good
Increasingly alarmed by powerful corporate and wealthy interests that have pushed the U.S. political system toward “impending constitutional catastrophe,” nearly 100 national organizations on Tuesday announced that they are coming together for a campaign…
Read MorePolitically Correct, or Perfectly Civil
What is wrong with being “politically correct” if it means being perfectly civil, informed, and mindful of others. If African American people say that blackface is offensive, it’s not a big deal, Megyn. It’s offensive. If members of a group say something is wrong, why not accept it?…
Read More“For The Movement” Discusses Civic Engagement During the 2018 Election With Ebony Baylor
This week on For The Movement, we discuss Civic Engagement during the 2018 Election Cycle with Ebony Baylor, Director of Civic Engagement for the National Urban League; and Ebonie Riley, DC Bureau Chief for the National Action Network.
Read MoreEarly Voting Numbers Signal Big Turnout for Midterms as Voter Suppression Looms
According to the New York Times, “vote totals have increased almost 200 percent at the same point since the last gubernatorial election.” Typically high turnout favors the Democratic Party.
Read MoreNAACP Files Voter Complaint Against Secretary of State Brian Kemp Over Voting Machine Irregularities
The Georgia NAACP has received complaints from several voters on touch screen irregularities when attempting to select Stacey Abrams as their choice for governor – the machines instead chose Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Read MoreINSIDE A TRUMP RALLY: What are black Trump supporters thinking?
By now, no one should be surprised that Kanye West is a fan of President Donald Trump. It’s been months since he first posted a selfie wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, so the surprise should be gone. And yet, there we were again Monday morning…
Read MoreTurnout WINS! Local Group Promotes “Get Out the Vote” Efforts
Some are not leaving this to chance. Brad Thompson has been and is, leading a group of “experienced’ local leaders in an effort to make this election count. Using primarily their own resources, this group has placed ads in newspapers and on radio stations…
Read More‘Souls to the Polls’ North Carolina Churches Get Black Voters to the Polls in Record Numbers
This weekend, voting rights advocates celebrated their success in overturning a North Carolina state law that an appeals court ruled targeted African-American voters with almost “surgical precision”.
Read MoreThe Voting Rights of Blacks Are Being Targeted and Threatened Every Day
African Americans should use these midterm elections as a beta test for the 2020 Presidential election and use the results as a tool to make demands and ensure a dedicated seat at the head table prior to 2020.
Read MoreElection Fight Shows That Black Voter Suppression, a Southern Tradition Flourishes
Federal and state courts have overturned such laws in some states, including Georgia, North Carolina and North Dakota, citing their harmful effect on African-American and Native American voters.
Read MoreColorado Voters to Consider Banning Slavery
“…Slavery is still legal in the United States, so long as it is pursuant to a criminal conviction and if it is limited to compulsory uncompensated labor — and indeed that is precisely the system America maintains today…”
Read MoreBlack Women Voters Seek to Shake up Midterms
The Trump presidency has repeatedly undermined the Affordable Care Act and other health programs that benefit the health of Black women. Black women will step up and vote…
Read MoreCongresswoman Waters Statement on GOP Plan to Cut Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid
“…It is a testament to their moral depravity and endless greed that the Republicans and Donald Trump would once again attempt to break the social safety net to pay for their GOP Tax Scam law.
Read MoreBrian Kemp: Conflict of Interest Is Not the Only Georgia Voting Issue
There is now another lawsuit, which will probably not be decided in time for the November election. What Kemp’s office refers to as “voter roll maintenance,” his opponents call “voter roll purges.
Read MorePart One: The Pitt County Model “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive Part XXII
The National Alumni Presidents of several HBCUs across the state are contacting their local alumni chapters, urging them to join with local NAACP chapters in a major voter mobilization…
Read MoreGeorgia Officials Order Black Seniors Off Bus Headed for Early Voting
“During this electoral season, we all should be committed to ensuring that more, not fewer, eligible voters can participate and exercise their fundamental right to vote,” wrote Leah Aden, the NAACP’s deputy director of litigation, in a letter to the county on Tuesday.
Read MoreAARP’s ‘Be the Difference. Vote.’ Stresses Importance of Voting in Midterms
Be the Difference. Vote.’ is a non-partisan campaign whose goal is mobilizing African Americans voters — and all voters 50 and older — to exercise your power and vote,” says Edna Kane-Williams, the senior vice president of Multicultural Leadership at AARP.
Read MoreREGISTER TODAY: North Carolina NAACP Voting Rights Webinar – October 18th
Action Alert – REGISTER TODAY: North Carolina NAACP Voting Rights Webinar – The North Carolina NAACP invites you to register today for the Voting Rights Webinar, Thursday, October 18th, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Voter Protection Training Agenda…
Read MoreResults of Straw Poll for November 2018
The Eastern North Carolina Civic Group (ENCCCG) under the leadership of the Honorable Fred Yates, Mayor of Winfall, recently conducted a straw poll of candidates that will appear on the November 2018 ballot. The poll of its membership yielded the following…
Read MoreWhy You Should Vote “No” on All Six Amendments
GOP legislative leadership in the NC General Assembly know that the good people of North Carolina have had enough of their legislative double-dealing, and sinister attempts at voter oppression aimed at African-Americans, so they’ve come up with a plan.
Read MoreVoter Mobilization Now Focus of “A Call to Colors” Campaign- GDN Exclusive Part XXI
With voter registration in North Carolina now ended, voter mobilization – especially on historically black college and university (HBCU) campuses throughout the state – is now the top priority between now and Election Day…
Read MoreWaller County Elections Office Denies Rejecting Voter Registrations from Prairie View A&M Students
Eason said in recent weeks there has been confusion about students who live on campus not having the correct address for their precinct listed on their registrations, but she said the county had not mailed students notices about the issue.
Read MoreNAACP Monitoring Possible Voter Suppression Tactics in Georgia Gov. Race
We are seeing this type of voter suppression scheme attempted by a state official whose candidacy for the governorship produces an irremediable conflict of interest,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
Read MoreStraight Talk: Republican-Inspired Voter Suppression
Voting is the glue holding democracy together. However, the suppression of the vote only weakens democracy. Republicans make political prisoners of Crystal Mason, whereas they champion their own Republicans even when they commit voter fraud.
Read MoreDesperate Republicans Help GOP Candidate for Georgia Governor Commit Massive Purge of Voters
National grassroots group reported Secretary of State Brian Kemp—also the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate—to the Justice Department late Wednesday night for blatantly violating the Voting Rights Act in order to swing the upcoming election in his own favor.
Read MoreSenate Appoints Trump Pick Eric Dreiband to Head DOJ Civil Rights Division
“…Mr. Dreiband lacks experience in many of the civil rights issues that fall under the Division’s jurisdiction – most importantly, voting rights, hate crimes, and police accountability,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Cedric Richmond (D-LA).
Read MorePoll Worker Volunteer Dedicates Nearly 80 Years, Inspires All to Vote
Laura Wooten is on a mission. The 97-year-old’s desire is to see citizens exercise their civic duty by voting. This has been her mission for more than seven decades while working the election polls through the administrations of nearly 15 presidents…
Read MoreAdvocates Encourage Voting Rights for NY Parolees
In a news release, many of the advocates said they were there to stand in support of voting rights for all people and the increases in Parole Board release rates, despite strong opposition from some Republican Senators.
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Clyburn Eyes Midterm Wins, Pelosi’s Chair
“We can’t just go around being Republican-lite, we have to be out there and putting forth an alternative message for our base and we have to reach out to Black voters and let them know we’re not taking them or any of our base for granted.”
Read MoreAndrew Gillum Shocks the Political World and Sets Stage for Three Black U.S Governors
Wildly outspent by a billionaire challenger and the daughter of a former Florida Governor, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, 39, shocked the political establishment to win the gubernatorial primary…
Read MoreDon’t Believe the Hype – Vote, Our Lives Depend on It
Though the margin between victory and loss was small in many states, the “near victory” serves as cold comfort to those communities whose civil rights are slowly being rolled back under the ominous weight and rise of racism and White nationalism.
Read MoreLeaders Meet For “A Call to Colors” Strategy – GDN Exclusive Part XX
With time running out before the November 6th midterm Elections, Reverend Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, President of the NCNAACP, and Greater Diversity News (GDN) Publisher, Attorney Peter Grear, and convened a pivotal teleconference
Read MoreA Black Woman in Texas Begins Five Year Prison Sentence for Voting
Activists and others are keeping keen eyes on any semblance of voter suppression – or worse. For Crystal Mason of Rendon, Texas, “worse” took the form of the 2016 presidential election.
Read MoreEmmett Till, Violence, Voting Rights and Education Policy
In his remarks to the attendees of the NAACP’s convention in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., NNPA President and CEO, remarked that much of what is happening in Washington, D.C. today, “is in reaction to our going to the polls and voting. Voter suppression is taking place because we are voting.
Read MoreShaw National Alumni President Announces Support for “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive Part XIX
Yes, there is some apathy on the part of students attending HBCUs around the country, and in North Carolina, regarding the need for them to be registered to vote…
Read MoreNAACP Ramps up Voter Outreach Campaign on National Voter Registration Day
“The most important player in this year’s election is the individual, said Jamal Watkins, NAACP Vice President of Civic Engagement. “Our recent poll showed a majority of voters of color..
Read MoreVote 2018 – America Is on the Ballot – Too Much at Stake to Simply Ignore
“If ever there was a time to vote, that time is now. And while there will be many candidates whose names will appear on ballots across this country, it is actually the future of the United States of America that is the most important thing on the ballot this November.”
Read MoreVoter Registration the Star at L.A. Sentinel’s Taste of Soul
While this year’s Taste of Soul offers attendees the opportunity to try amazing food, the Sentinel is using the event to spearhead a huge voter registration drive.
Read MoreNew Report: People of Color Nearly Absent from Top U.S. House Staff
“The House of Representatives cannot effectively create public policy that benefits all Americans if the people making policy decisions do not look like America,” — Spencer Overton, President of the Joint Center Black Talent Initiative.
Read MoreCOMMENTARY: What the Supreme Court Nomination Would Mean for Black Women
Black women are the largest constituency in the United States that has no representation on the Supreme Court – we’ve never had a Black woman Supreme Court Justice. Until we can see that, we can certainly do better than another ideologically extreme white male.
Read MoreCongressional Black Caucus Foundation Shuts the Door on Discriminatory Political Climate
From the tone of the presidential campaign, to where the Klu Klux Klan makes their appearances regularly, to the deportation of hundreds of immigrants, to the ban on Muslims, to the children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border—that is where the CBC steps in.
Read MoreBipartisan HBCU Caucus Achieves Milestone with New Corporate Challenge Partners
HBCUs have led the charge to produce some of our nation’s greatest African-American talent, despite 200 years of discrimination and inequality, while the tech industry has faced some of the greatest challenges of mankind with fearless innovation and ingenuity.
Read MoreCBCF Prepares for 48th Legislative Conference in DC: ‘The Dream Still Demands Courage …’
The premier conference, which annually attracts nearly 10,000 people from across the world and is the only event of its kind in the United States, will have the theme, “The Dream Still Demands Courage, Resilience, Leadership and Legislation.”
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Jim Crow 2018 – Black Voting Rights under Attack in America
“This is a discriminatory state law that is antiquated and almost equates to the laws that discriminated against racial minorities decades ago when they were required to pay a poll tax in order to vote … There is no test for a person who can challenge your right to vote.
Read MoreWhat Is Exciting About Black Political Excellence – A Generational Changing of the Guard
What is exciting about the Black political excellence is that it also represents a generational changing of the guard. Gillum is 39, Pressley and Abrams, in their early 40s. Booker is 49, and Harris is in her early 50s. This is quite a change from the entrenched political leadership that endorsed Pressley’s opponent.
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