News
Juneteenth Celebration Encourages Black Vote
South Florida Times
By Shanique Palmer
The nineteenth of June is a time for rejoicing and reflection, for meditation and celebration, for self-assessment and self-improvement.
Under the slogan “Passing the Baton of Leadership and Success,” The Urban League of Broward County’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) will host its 2nd annual Juneteenth Commemoration on Wednesday, June 18 at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale.
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2 Voter Rights Cases, One Gripping a College Town,
Stir Texas
The New York Times
By Ralph Blumenthal
May 28, 2008
PRAIRIE VIEW, Tex. — “Vote or Die,” exhorts the faded slogan on a roadway at Prairie View A&M University, where black students once marched for the right to vote here in the town where they attend school, on a former cotton plantation about 50 miles northwest of Houston.
The students won that battle in 2004, long after the United States Supreme Court supposedly decided the issue in 1979. But disputes over minority voting rights — along with accusations of election fraud — continue to rouse Prairie View, home to one of the nation’s leading historically black colleges, and other Texas locales.
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Voter ID Proponents are Ready to Battle
Will a recent Supreme Court decision help aid voter suppression?
Black Enterprise Magazine
by Joyce Jones
May 27, 2008 -- The current campaign season has elicited an enormous amount of interest and excitement in the nation's electoral process. In addition to unprecedented voter turnout in many of this year's primary contests, millions of new voters also have lined up at the polls to have their say.
But earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law in Indiana requiring voters to provide state- or government-issued identification, opening the door for voter ID battles in other states. Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have minimum photo and non-photo ID requirements.
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Getting Out the (Rest of the) Youth Vote
Wiretap
By Kristina Rizga
June 23, 2008
This article was originally published by WireTap
Time Magazine recently proclaimed 2008 "The Year of the Youth Vote." MTV has been similarly celebrating the unprecedented youth turnout on Super Tuesday with votes (PDF) tripling in five states and nearly quadrupling in Tennessee their 2000 totals. Inspired by what youth voters see as a more grassroots campaign of Sen. Barack Obama and mobilized through dozens of voter engagement groups, voter turnout among youth increased in every state except New York.
Formerly skeptical political strategists, media outlets, bloggers, pundits and presidential candidates are now paying close attention to this voting bloc. The recognition of the clout of some 50 million 18- to 30-year-old eligible voters in America marks a historic shift in the national discourse. In the past decade, polls showed that public opinion cast young people as "apathetic" overlooking increasing community and electoral activism.
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"All of the 2008 honorees were truly deserving of accolades. Each of them have demonstrated a consistent commitment to creating balance in the democratic process," said Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO of the NCBCP.
In addition to Congressman Rangel, honorees included Community Empowerment Award recipients, Derrick A. Humphries, Esq, executive director Black Congress on Health, Law & Economics, and Roland S. Martin, syndicated columnist, radio host, and commentator for TV One Cable Network and CNN.
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By C. Denise Johnson
Courier Staff Writer
New Pittsburgh Courier Online
Published on 04/17/2008
“If ever is a time for sisters to come together, this is one of those times,” extolled radio host Bev Smith. “We have the power to change to decide who’s in the White House.”
The event was billed as “Power of the Sister Vote” Get Out the Vote Dinner and rally and drew women from nearly every sector of the Black community, women affiliated with various religions, sororities, professions, schools, civil rights and social agencies, grass roots and civic volunteers. A Clairton youth group of teenage girls—Enlightenment—were there too.
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By Krissah Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; A04
On her way to vote in Georgia's Feb. 5 Democratic primary, the usual music and celebrity gossip on Carcola Tippit's favorite radio show was set aside in favor of host Tom Joyner's repeated calls for listeners to report voting problems.
"Report any trickery! Call 1-866-MYVOTE1," implored Joyner, whose show is heard by 8 million listeners nationwide. "Let us know what's happening out there."
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Where Do We Go From Here?
To Read Black Unity Family Letter>>
By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Melanie Campbell, head of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, watched Thursday’s swearing-in of members of the Congressional Black Caucus and thought, “It feels good to be black in America.”
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