Michael Bland has a message for political campaigns: Young Black men aren’t politically checked out. They’re just being ignored. “Black men are not politically absent, they are politically misread,” said Bland, executive director of Black Men Vote, a nonpartisan organization focused on mobilizing Black male voters. That assessment comes from new polling his organization commissioned, […]
Black voters
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Women Are Turning the Supreme Court Ruling Into a Battle Cry
The flurry of direct attacks on voting rights in the South has thrust voters, candidates, and organizers into a state of chaos and confusion in the midst of an election season. It’s a result of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act. It allowed several states, including Alabama, […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
‘It Hurts My Heart’: Black Elders Reflect on Tennessee Plan To Strip Memphis of Power
This story was originally published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Memphis voters braved the rain Tuesday morning to vote in the county primary election. As they headed to the polls, lawmakers returned to the state Capitol for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts. State Republicans are expected to eliminate the only Democratic-held seat: Memphis’ District […]
Posted inElections, Partner Content, Politics & Policy, Politics & Policy
Black Memphians Came to Fight a Voter Map That They Say Erases Them
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout. Breaking news: Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new U.S. House map Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections. A Tennessee […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Louisiana Exoneree Wins Election, Then Gets Blocked From Taking Office on First Day
Calvin Duncan was supposed to start on May 4 overseeing the criminal court in New Orleans after a federal judge blocked the state from eliminating the position. But less than an hour later, a higher court intervened, halting that decision at the state’s request. Five months after Duncan secured 68% of the vote to become […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Black Conservatives Still Riding with Trump
The black GMC Yukon pulled up outside the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, blasting a song featuring Nicki Minaj. As the lyrics spilled out, five young Black conservatives, a group of political influencers and rising activists, hurried inside for the Black Americans for Trump Trailblazer Reception. “We had to play MAGAMinaj,” […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Supreme Court Case Threatens Mail-in Ballots for Black Voters
For Mississippians, there’s been no escaping the attempts to dilute Black political power. Two Black Democrats won special elections on Nov. 4 to break the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate. Then, six days later, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to mail-in voting. Johnny DuPree and Theresa Gillespie Isom both […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Calls for ‘New Blood’ Grow at Congressional Black Caucus Gathering
WASHINGTON — Twenty-two-year-old Dequavius Pitts was excited to be at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The recent Georgia Southern University graduate is interning in the city, and curious to see how panelists discussed issues such as LGBTQ rights. Pitts can talk about his concerns with more seasoned Black members of […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Texas Rep. Stays Overnight in Chamber to Oppose Map She Says Hurts Black, Latino Voters
The redistricting battle in Texas has taken a turn. After state House Democrats returned from their walkout, they were informed on Monday that they would need a police escort when they leave the chamber floor in order to prevent them from fleeing the state again before the House reconvenes on Wednesday. State Rep. Nicole Collier, […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
The Voting Rights Act Turns 60. Its Future Has Never Looked More Fragile.
Khadidah Stone will never forget the day in 2023 she learned that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld voting rights in her home state of Alabama. She was in a store when her phone buzzed, flooded with messages. “I was standing in the aisle crying,” she recalled. “And the guy at the front of the store […]
