Black voting groups launch national effort to mobilize 100,000 Black men ahead of midterms
TheGrio...
Civil rights organizations say jobs, affordability, education and voting rights are among the issues shaping their push to engage Black male voters.
As the midterm elections are less than 40 days away, civil rights and voting advocacy groups are coming together for a nationwide campaign to ensure that a forgotten demographic is being talked to and mobilized to vote on Nov. 3: Black men.
“Black men are tired of being burned by a system that was never designed for us,” says NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. “We get a say in which policies affect our daily lives. Because every vote by us is a vote for us. And those votes get us one step closer to a government that works for Black men, Black families, and all of America.”
The NAACP, in partnership with 100 Black Men of America, National Urban League, Black Men Vote, Woke Vote, and State of the People, together launched National Black Man Voter Day. The goal of the coordinated national civic-engagement initiative is to mobilize 100,000 Black men ahead of early voting on Oct. 24.
“It was important for these groups to get together to ensure that we’re standing in the gap and making sure that Black men, who oftentimes are an afterthought throughout the election cycle, are at the forefront,” says Dominik Whitehead, Chief of Field, Membership Growth and Unit Sustainability at the NAACP.
The voting rights advocate told theGrio that it’s important that the issues most important to Black men are front and center this midterm cycle, especially as power in Congress could potentially shift after November’s election results.
Whitehead notes that research commissioned by the NAACP and HIT Strategies found that jobs, affordability, access to education, and homeownership are the top issues for Black men. He notes that under the second Trump administration, Black men have been hurt most by the increased job loss, second only to Black women.
The groups are also seeking to mobilize Black men around the issue of voting rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais v. Louisiana decision in April that gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and made it harder for Black voters to prove racial discrimination in voting, most especially in the former Antebellum and Jim Crow South.
Whitehead tells theGrio that while suppressed voting rights is a mobilizer, it depends on how organizers and candidates are talking about the issue. He said it’s about “connecting the dots” between voting rights rollbacks, the erasure of representation, and the threat to their “very own existence.”
“It’s not necessarily about saving democracy. More so, it’s about ensuring that we continue to have our rights,” he explained.
Research shows that there could be challenges to mobilizing some segments of the Black male population. According to data from HIT Strategies, 1 in 4 younger Black men, ages 18-45, said they were uncertain or unlikely to participate in the midterms.
The mobilization effort targeting Black men is intended to close those potential gaps between Black men who plan to vote and those who do not.
“National Black Man Voter Day is about meeting Black men where they are, through the trusted institutions and relationships that shape everyday life, and ensuring they have the information, resources, and support they need to make their voices heard,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.
Digital outreach is also a major part of National Black Man Vote Day, including a digital storytelling campaign, #ThisBlackManVotes.
“The internet has a lot of misinformation, and so it is important for trusted messengers,” said Whitehead, who told theGrio that research shows most Black men are on online platforms like YouTube and in gaming.
“[Black men] also want to hear from people just like them, so we’re identifying both macro and micro influencers to be a part of our digital campaign and making sure we’re having real conversations and mobilizing voters,” he told theGrio.
However, Mike Bland, executive director of Black Men Vote, says, “This has to be bigger than a moment or a social media campaign.” He continued, “The work is on the ground — in our neighborhoods, union halls, boardrooms, barbershops, churches, campuses and communities — making sure Black men have accurate information, a plan to vote and the support they need to participate.”
Whitehead said the groups are prepared to meet Black men wherever they are and provide them with the education and tools to ensure they are registered and can navigate the various barriers to voting, including confusion about polling sites.
“They’re gonna do everything and put everything in front of us to ensure that it is gonna be hard to vote. We’ve seen it election cycle after election cycle after election cycle,” he told theGrio.
The NAACP is encouraging voters to visit NAACP.org/Vote for information on voting in their state, including when early voting begins, guides on casting ballots, and other resources. The coalition of advocacy groups will also be hosting mass calls for Black men to “deep dive” into all things voting in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
“For Black men, we’re doubling down,” says Whitehead. “We’re giving folks some hope and [encouraging them] not to be discouraged around any of the voter suppression tactics that may be in front of us.”