BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Sonya Knox had cast her ballot. Now, she was going home to get her 18-year-old grandson. She had just learned he was registered to vote. At 65, she wasn’t about to let the young Black man sit out an election when she feared the rights that made her own vote possible […]
Elections
Posted inElections, HBCUs, Politics & Policy
HBCU Students Are Turning Their Anger Into Action This Election
BALTIMORE – Morgan State University students chanted, “This is what democracy looks like!” and “There’s hope if you vote!” as they marched Tuesday to the nearest polling place just a mile away from campus. As some students entered the polling place, the crowd cheered them on, encouraging students and other Baltimore residents as they exercised […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Feud Erupts in Michigan as Black Church Visits Expose Democratic Divide
As tensions boiled over in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, Black leaders and Detroit residents put their support behind Abdul El-Sayed – and his campaign’s final push included a Black church. Surrounded by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, and pastors at Detroit’s Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
North Carolina’s Historic Black District Faces a Major Midterm Test
ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina — As early voting turnout in North Carolina’s midterm elections surged past levels seen in previous years, Mysha Holland was one of the first people in line. Organizers in the city, about 45 miles from where President Donald Trump recently held a rally for his preferred candidates, are hopeful that they […]
Posted inAugusta, Education, Elections, K-12
What Black Augusta Voters Want from Their School Board
Augustans are choosing who they want to represent them on the Richmond County school board this election season, in one of the most important races on the ballot. Despite some performance issues, students throughout the school district continue to improve academically. From graduation rates to standardized tests, Richmond County School System has recorded gains in […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
A Black Farmer Is Running to Become Louisiana’s Next U.S. Senator
NEW IBERIA, Louisiana — On a humid September afternoon, wedged between high stalks of sugarcane and old tractors, Jamie Davis felt right at home. He had traveled 170 miles from Waterproof, Louisiana, a 91% Black town that’s home to 576 people, to New Iberia, a bigger city, on another Black-owned farm. There, Davis and a […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
For Black Memphis, Tennessee’s New Map Means Fighting Again for Representation
MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Cicely Sharp never saw herself becoming a full-time voting rights organizer. After what happened in May, though, she felt like she had no choice. Her brother, who lives in New Jersey, was texting her to coordinate a visit to Memphis, but she wasn’t paying much attention to him. She was watching legislative […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Black Organizers Change Their Message to the Hip-Hop Generation
The Rev. Lennox Yearwood had learned from experience that getting more members of the hip-hop generation to be politically active was difficult. He knew it wasn’t enough to get them to turn out to vote for one election – because they might not show up for the next one. And he believed that creating change […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Barack Obama Backs Keisha Lance Bottoms for Georgia Governor
Barack Obama has endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia’s heated governor’s race — and he wants Peach State voters to do the same. The nation’s first Black president issued a video endorsement Wednesday night in support of the Democratic nominee vying to become America’s first Black woman governor. During the 54-second clip, Obama calls on Georgia […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
How the Congressional Black Caucus Is Organizing to Protect Black Voting Power
WASHINGTON — There’s a heaviness hanging over this year’s Congressional Black Caucus conference, as U.S. Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana and other caucus members talk strategy ahead of the midterms just months away. “Be angry enough to fight. Angry enough to vote,” Carter said Wednesday, the first day of the annual convening in the nation’s […]
