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Nov 2, 2022
NATIONAL COALITION ON BLACK CIVIC PARTICIPATION RECENTLY HELD ITS UNITY ’22 ‘POWER OF THE BALLOT’ GOTV COMEDY TOUR AND ORGANIZING WEEKEND IN PHILADELPHIA
Washington, DC (November 2, 2022) –The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), in partnership with its national partners, state affiliates and local partners recently brought its Unity ’22 “Power of the Ballot” 30-Day GOTV (Get Out the Vote) National Comedy Tour & Organizing Weekend to Philadelphia for a successful weekend of events and canvassing for the community.
The 30-day Unity ’22 National “Power of the Ballot” GOTV Tour & Organizing Weekends have been focused on five battleground states: Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, with a mission to celebrate and uplift the leaders, organizers and activists doing the Black civic engagement work; and to help increase Black voter turnout in the five states. The tour activations include a “Power of the Ballot” evening of comedy & GOTV rally; door-to-door neighborhood canvassing; text banking; early voting mobilizations, and more.
On Thursday, October 27, the group held their GOTV Rally and comedy show at the Laborer’s Training and Learning Center on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. With dozens of guests in attendance, rally speakers included: Melanie L. Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and National Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable; Marc Morial, President & CEO of the National Urban League; Clayola Brown, National President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute; Christina Cue, Unity 22 National Campaign Manager; Tiffany Dominique, Convener of The Greater Philadelphia Black Women’s Roundtable; and Philadelphia community leaders. The crowd was energized and ready for an evening of comedy; featuring award-winning comediennes Meshelle “The Indie-Mom” of Comedy, BPhlat, and Vanessa Fraction.
The weekend of events continued with a neighborhood canvassing on Saturday, October 29, starting at Broad and Lehigh Streets in Philadelphia. Volunteers went door-to-door to distribute literature and resources on the importance of voting.
Melanie Campbell, NCBCP CEO and Convener of The Black Women’s Roundtable stated, “Pennsylvania is a battleground state where Black voter turnout will have statewide and national consequences for decades to come. We are working round the clock in every community to make sure Black voters are informed and empowered to own their power through the ballot. Our ‘Power of the Ballot’ GOTV Comedy Tour and GOTV activations in Philadelphia served two goals: 1) to thank and bring joy (through laughter) to the leaders, organizers and activists who are working hard to get out the Black vote and 2) to energize the grassroots activists who are engaging our communities to canvass and knock on doors to register, motivate and mobilize our people to ‘own their power’ and to increase the Black vote share in the 2022 midterm Elections. Our weekend of organizing allows us to reach hundreds of Black voters throughout the greater Philadelphia area. I can’t give enough praise to our affiliates, partners and volunteers in the state for their leadership, hard work and role in elevating the needs of our communities, defending the vote, and saving our democracy time and again.”
Ms. Tiffany Dominque, Convener of the The Greater Philadelphia Black Women's Roundtable, said “Black political power in Pennsylvania runs directly through the streets of Philadelphia. When Black voters in our great city are mobilized, we have the power to shift the outcomes of every election – at the local, state and national levels. The Power of the Ballot Comedy Tour helped bring our community together at a time where we need to pour into the grassroots organizers and leaders doing the work day in and day out. We are putting in the work to ensure we are inspiring hundreds of Black households to use our collective power and keep our issues front and center in this election cycle.”
The Unity ’22 GOTV National Tour is powered by AARP, NEO Philanthropy/State Infrastructure Fund, National Education Association, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), The American Postal Workers Union and The Kapor Center. 1
Philadelphia partners include The National Urban League, A. Philip Randolph Institute, The Greater Philadelphia Black Women’s Roundtable, YOACAP, Urban Affairs Coalition, Sharp Insight, Celebrating Sisterhood, and NAACP Philadelphia Chapter.
For more information, visit www.unitycampaign.org.
Contacts:
Melissa Young, 267-515-1150,
melissa@mashstrategies.com
Melissa Young, 267-515-1150,
melissa@mashstrategies.com
Angelo Greco, 917-499-2688, angelo@trillmulticultural.com
Lon Walls, 301-996-1669, lwalls@wallscomm.com
NCBCP Unity ’22 GOTV Tour national and state partners include: 100 Black Men of America, Incorporated, A. Philip Randolph Institute, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Black Women’s Roundtable, Black Youth Vote!, Black Church Action Fund, Black Voters Matter, Building Back Together, Center for American Progress, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, D4 Women in Action, Incorporated, Emerge, EMILY’s List, ERA Coalition, Family Values @ Work, HBCU Green Fund, Higher Heights Leadership Fund, Hip Hop Caucus, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated, International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute, LCCRUL/Election Protection, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, League of Women Voters USA, Live Free, National Urban League, National Action Network, NAACP LDF, NAACP, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Action Network, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, National Black Justice Coalition, National Council of Negro Women, National Partnership for Women’s & Families, National Education Association, National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women), People for American Way, Power Rising, Save a Girl Save a World, Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, SEIU, The Collective Education Fund, The King Center, Unerased Black Women Speak, #WinWithBlackWomen, Higher Heights Leadership Fund, American Postal Workers Union (as 10/25/22).
The Unity ’22 Campaign is a national and multi-state organizing, non-partisan, integrated voter engagement campaign focused on a number of issues, including increasing Black voter turnout and providing voter protection tools for Black voters to ensure their votes are counted in the 2022 Mid-Term Election. The Unity ’22 Campaign is a diverse group of over 50 national and state-based partner organizations and NCBCP/BWR affiliates and networks. NCBCP launched its Unity ’22 National Campaign in July 2022.
