FEATURE
FIRST OF ALL, WE VOTE: MOVING FORWARD: A VOTELESS PEOPLE IS A HOPELESS PEOPLE CALL TO ACTION
D
uring the 111th Anniversary Convention, 94th General Convention in Baltimore, 35th General President Everett Ward presented an aggressive advocacy agenda that focused the Fraternity’s efforts in addressing several critical areas impacting our community. He encouraged our Brotherhood to continue to plan voter education, registration, and engagement programs, while also standing vigilantly against suppression. The Fraternity has been constantly reminded of the importance of this priority by the ongoing healthcare debate, the continued presence of police brutality, the re-emergence of white supremacy, and fervent attacks against funding for HBCUs. In this nation’s past, times like these demand strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands.
Community Organizing • Plan and host issue forums or moderated community discussions; • Distribute petitions to garner support for relevant issues. S
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Voter Education/Engagement • Create and distribute informational materials regarding pertinent issues in your communities (Education, Infrastructure, Human Services, etc.); • Plan and subsequently host candidate forums and town hall meetings in your respective communities.
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As part of this initiative, President Ward instituted a call to action for all chapters to organize, engage in coordinating, and hosting at least one community-based voter
Voter Registration • Conduct a local voter registration drive to ensure that our constituents are prepared to vote in the upcoming midterm elections; • Set up registrations stations in heavily traveled areas.
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As we continue to respond to the Urgency of Now, we move deliberately toward changing the political landscape of our communities with “First of All, We Vote.” This initiative is an extension of our "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" national program and will extend our civic engagement work beyond voter registration to include enhanced opportunities for political and civic engagement, voter education and grassroots community organizing.
engagement activity. Examples of these activities include:
ECTION THE SPHINX