For Immediate Release
Sept. 18, 2023
ATLANTA – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) will celebrate National Voter Registration Day, on September 19, by engaging Black communities around the threat of voter purges, and by registering Black communities to vote. The network of Black women organizers in the South is also highlighting the ways in which their group is pushing back. The BSWC includes Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice; Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice; Tameka Greer, executive director of Memphis Artists for Change; and Phyllis Hill, BSWC founder and national organizing director for Faith in Action. They released the following statement:
“Studies show that 60% of eligible voters are never asked to register,” said Rev. Rhonda Thomas, BSWC member and executive director of Faith in Florida. “Given the many people who have been removed from the voting rolls, we want to spend National Voter Registration Day engaging as many people as possible and ensuring they register to vote or confirm that their registration is up to date.”
Faith in Florida will celebrate Nation Voter Registration Day in Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville is the oldest black town in the United States. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, by 27 black men, it was one of the first self-governing all black municipalities in the United States.
Faith in Florida’s goal is to register 200 voters and encourage 100 people to encourage at least 100 people to complete the vote by mail applications. “We hope to expand the electorate in 41 counties,” Thomas said.
“This is a moment to dialogue with voters about their registration, their plans for voting, and the reasons our votes matter,” said Tameka Greer, BSWC member and executive director of Memphis Artists for Change. “We are also engaging voters who are at risk of being purged from the voting rolls and encouraging them to check their registration status.”
“One vote may seem insignificant, but every vote is an opportunity to help create the future we envision,” said Nsombi Lambright, BSWC member and executive director of One Voice. “It is part of a larger strategy, but it is a component that cannot be overlooked or ignored. “We will use this as an opportunity to not only sign up new voters but to reclaim voters pushed out of the system through purging.”
To date, One Voice has collected lists of inactive voters from six circuit clerks offices and are actively pursuing the remaining 76 counties in Mississippi.
“The ballot booth is another opportunity to ensure our demands are met and that the evil of systemic racism is confronted and dismantled,” said BSWC member and founder and president of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice Ashley K. Shelton. “Every election matters, which is why it’s crucial that we avail ourselves of moments like National Voter Registration Day to engage with voters and prepare them to turn out on election day.”
“We have an awesome opportunity to continue the work of those who came before us, and to simultaneously organize to make life better for those who will come after us,” said Kendra Cotton, BSWC member and executive director of the New Georgia Project.
The New Georgia Project has registered 41,000 people to vote since January 2023, and intends to register an additional 300 people on National Voter Registration Day.
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