FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 14, 2024
Contacts:
Bilen Mesfin Packwood, bilen@change-llc.com
Ahuatl Amaro, ahuatl@change-llc.com
Nine National Groups Join Forces to Mobilize 1.6 Million Black Voters in Key Battleground States
New Black Power Voters Alliance Launches Massive Get-Out-the-Vote Effort Ahead of November
[Washington, D.C.] – Today, nine national Black-led advocacy groups joined forces to launch the Black Power Voters Alliance, a voter outreach campaign to mobilize 1.6 million Black voters with an emphasis on seven key states ahead of the November elections.
The effort is led by nine of the largest Black-led organizations who have joined forces to build Black political power: Black Futures Lab, Black to the Future Action Fund, Black Voters Matter, Color of Change, Community Change, Movement for Black Lives, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, State Voices and Working Families Party. The non-partisan, civic engagement effort focuses on contacting, identifying, and mobilizing Black people to the polls with an emphasis on Black voters in Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Black voters are a constituency that has proven again and again that we can and will turn out for an agenda that improves our lives and expands our rights,” said Kristin Powell, principal of the Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund. “But we must invest in what it takes to activate and engage us. That’s why we are excited to flex our collective power and let Black voters know about what is at stake up and down the November ballots – from abortion to health care to the economy. Together, we are making sure that Black people’s voices, issues, and votes are building power for long-term transformation in our communities.”
The Black Power Voters Alliance will act as a hub, leveraging the resources of the organizations – holding national coordination, developing a campaign infrastructure, and providing entry points for state, local, and regional organizations to plug into existing efforts. The get-out-the-vote effort includes on-the-ground canvassing, door-to-door outreach, targeted phone-banking, and coordinated days of action. In addition, Black Power Voters Alliance is committed to supporting volunteers and other organizations to reach out to Black voters in their communities through downloadable toolkits, virtual days of action, and door-knocking.
The alliance will coordinate 15 days of action, holding virtual phone-banking and text messaging (SMS) actions and door-knocking canvassing, with each organization hosting one of these days of action ahead of November. Black Power Voters Alliance partners around the country will add capacity on these days to increase voter contact numbers. In addition, the alliance will focus on motivating Black voters that are unlikely, occasional, and newly registered bringing special attention to the top concerns identified by Black voters.
Black voters determined the outcome of the 2008 and 2020 Presidential elections, delivering Georgia and North Carolina in both instances. While securing the support of Black communities is vital to winning the White House, voter outreach efforts have fallen short of consistently activating and addressing the top concerns of Black Voters, especially in state and local elections.
The Catalyst database identifies that, of those of voting age, there are 22.8 million Active Black Voters across the United States, representing 72.6 percent of eligible Black voters being active voters. The campaign estimates that the total number of active Black voters in the 7 target states is 5.3 million. According to its 2023 Black Census, Black Futures Lab found that 77 percent Black voters participate in presidential elections all the time, and plan on voting in the 2024 general elections.
About Black Futures Lab
Black Futures Lab works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power, and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally. Our mission is to engage Black communities year round, using our political strength to stop corporate influences from creeping into public policies, and combining technology and traditional organizing methods to reach Black people anywhere and everywhere we are. blackfutureslab.org
About Black to the Future Action Fund
The Black to the Future Action Fund works to make Black communities powerful in politics, so that we can be powerful in the entirety of our lives. We work to enact policies that improve the lives of Black communities, and to elect Black and pro-Black legislators with progressive values who move progressive policies. Together we work to ensure that Black people have what all people deserve —dignity, safety, and power. black2thefuture.org
