UNC System Association of Student Government Senior VP Supports “A Call to Colors” – GDN Exclusive Vol. 3 Part IV

Raekwon Davis

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 Carolina Central University, also supports “A Call to Colors (ACTC),” the nonpartisan civic engagement strategy sponsored by Greater Diversity News (GDN), which, in partnership with Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, the NC NAACP, HBCU Alumni Associations, student government associations, and faith-based institutions, targets students on HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) campuses with voter education, registration and mobilization in preparation for the critical 2020 elections and beyond.

In UNCASG Senior Vice President Davis’ capacity, he’s able to confer with the SGA presidents of all 17 UNC System schools, but especially the ones at NCCU, Fayetteville State University, NC A&T University, Elizabeth City State University and Winston-Salem State University, about how ACTC can augment whatever voter civic engagement strategies they’re already implementing.

And with NCCU the flagship ACTC school, Davis can share lessons learned from the NCCU CEAC (Civic Engagement and Advocacy Committee) model already established. Under the leadership of Imani Johnson, NCCU’s student chairwoman of the SGA’s Political Action and Civic Engagement (PACE) committee, NCCU students have the first ACTC model for students. She is being assisted by alumni advisors as it is being fine-tuned and recommended to other schools.

One project that has been recommended for the NCCU SGA is an invitation to all student organizations to ask their members to volunteer 8,16, 24 hours or more per election cycle, in support of PACE activities. This is the same pledge that NCCU Alumni Association members are asked to take.

The Fayetteville native says he will speak to the HBCU (Student Government Association) SGA presidents at their next scheduled meeting at UNC-W about possibly adopting ACTC for their campuses, but noted that, thus far, from what he has seen, they have already rolled out impressive voter engagement programs on campus. Peter Grear, leader of ACTC recognizes that many organizations are aggressively engaged in voter education, registration and mobilization, but urges them to adopt common strategies to avoid duplications and waste.

The individual SGAs are not required to report back to the UNCASG specifically about their voter civic engagement progress, but do make public announcements about their voter registration, education and mobilization activities, especially when done in concert with Divine Nine groups. GDN is becoming a forum for ideas and information relating to civic engagement by students and others.

Davis says he could establish an agreement with them to update their activities, especially as it relates to ACTC.

Davis started working with NCCU SGA during his freshman year, he says, and has maintained various positions until his senior year now, where he serves with UNCASG President Adam Schmidt of North Carolina State University.

Davis comes from a family of four, consisting of his mother, two brothers and himself. He is the first to attend college and plans to attend grad school upon graduation. Afterwards, he hopes to do higher education policy work in Washington, D.C., and may eventually run for office one day.

Follow the growing activism of student leaders and ACTC developments by signing-up for GDN’s free eNews publication at GreaterDiversity.com . For additional information email – [email protected] .