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Tag: Black Southern Women’s Collaborative

New Profit Invests $1.6 Million into 16 Organizations, Including Memphis Artists for Change

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For Immediate Release

Jan. 30, 2024

New Profit Invests $1.6 Million into 16 Organizations, Including Memphis Artists for Change

MEMPHIS – The arts-centered, community and economic development organization, Memphis Artists for Change (MAC), today announced it received an award from New Profit for its work in Memphis. MAC is a Black-led, place-based advocacy organization that champions community-directed change in underserved neighborhoods. Founded and run by Tameka Greer, MAC provides a vehicle for artists and community members to advocate for positive change. The recognition from New Profit includes a $100,000 grant, access to coaching and development, and inclusion into a network of like-minded leaders. New Profit is a national venture philanthropy organization dedicated to advancing equity and opportunity. It invested $100,000 each into 16 innovative organizations – including MAC – for their work driving economic mobility.

“As a Black woman, it is deeply gratifying to be recognized for our work but also to receive funding to deepen our impact,” Greer said. “Our work at MAC has always centered around partnering with the community to improve the quality of life for her residents. We cannot advance change without the support of donors and funding institutions, so this award is deeply meaningful.”

From its Arthouse Café, to its transitional housing for women recently released from incarceration to its advocacy to preserve and expand democracy, to its work to hold utility companies accountable for unreasonable rake hikes and their impact on working people, MAC is a trusted voice and partner in Memphis.

“With this funding, we will continue to meet critical needs in our community, promote community engagement within the artistic and non-profit community, and mobilize Memphis residents to protect public values,” Greer said.  

In addition to leading Memphis Artists for Change, Greer is also a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative.

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Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Weigh in on Redistricting in States Such as Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana

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For Immediate Release

Oct. 30, 2023

ATLANTA – On Thursday, October 26, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones declared that Georgia’s current maps violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn by Dec. 8. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered a special session on Nov. 29 to begin the map-drawing process. The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, which includes founder Phyllis Hill; Kendra Cotton, CEO of the New Georgia Project; Nsombi Lambright-Haynes, executive director of One Voice; Tameka Greer, executive director of Memphis Artists for Change; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; and Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice, released the following statement:

“For years, Black women have been organizing against unfair and inequitable redistricting maps,” Cotton said. “We have done this even as we have gone to great lengths to educate our communities on how they could engage in the process. The federal court ruling in Georgia, and the Supreme Court rulings in Alabama and Louisiana affirm what we’ve said all along, the state and congressional districting lines in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana disproportionately harmed Black voters.”

“We have repeatedly urged elected officials to create fair maps while also educating voters on how they could engage in the redistricting process,” Shelton said. “In Louisiana, we launched a tour where we went city by city to explain the process in accessible terms. We, along with partners and allies, also filed a legal challenge to Louisiana’s maps which diluted the voting power of Black voters. Our work has shown that when Black women organize, Black communities benefit. It is imperative that donors and foundations continue to get resources to Black women who have time and time again proven to be defenders of democracy.”

The victory for Black voters in Georgia follows similar wins in Louisiana and Alabama where the Supreme Court ruled those states’ maps violated Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of choice. Ohio advocates are also preparing to put a measure on the ballot that would allow ordinary citizens as opposed to politicians to draw state legislative lines.

“The right to vote is sacred,” Hill said. “And from coast to coast, Black women organizers have been pushing back on attacks that undermine the right to vote and democracy itself. From experience, we know that when we fight, we will win.”

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Nsombi Lambright: Voter Purging Is the Number One Complaint from Our Voter Protection Hot Line

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For Immediate Release

Oct. 27, 2023

JACKSON – On Oct. 25, One Voice, MS NAACP, Civic Engagement Roundtable, MS Poor People’s Campaign, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law raised concerns that counties throughout Mississippi are improperly purging voters, putting them on the inactive list or removing them without notice. During the event, the groups presented information gathered from circuit clerks’ offices throughout the state and sought to educate citizens who may have been removed from the voting rolls. Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice and a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, released the following statement:

“The maintenance of voter rolls is a normal process of cleaning voter data, eliminating duplicates, removing persons who are deceased or have been convicted of a disfranchising felony and removing inactive voters. Unfortunately, our state has used this process as a voter suppression tool by dropping voters from the rolls without notice.

“Voter purging is the number one complaint from our voter protection hot line.  It is very common for us to receive calls from voters who have voted at one place for years, only to discover that they are no longer eligible to vote at this place. 

“We are urging Mississippians to check your voting status. Make sure that you still vote where you think that you vote.  And make sure that your status is still active.  You can verify this information through the Secretary of State’s website and through your local circuit clerk’s office.  Voting is a human right, not a privilege. We have some very good circuit clerks and election commissioners who are committed to making sure that we all vote, but there are also those who want to take this right away.  We cannot let them win.”

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This National Voter Registration Day, the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative to Focus on State-Level Voter Purges

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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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Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges

Posted on

For Immediate Release 

Aug. 1, 2023

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges 

ATLANTA – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) today warned about the growing threat of voter purges, which deny Black and brown citizens’ right 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, president of Memphis Artists for Change; and BSWC founder Phyllis Hill, national organizing director for Faith in Action. They released the following statement: 

“Modern day voter suppression comes in many different forms – precinct and DMV closings, cuts to early voting, restricted absentee ballot processes, moving polling places, etc.,” Hill said. “But one of the most sinister forms of voter suppression is voter purges.”  

In Mississippi, BSWC member One Voice submitted an Open Records Request seeking information on persons who have been purged. It also is urging voters to double check their registration status.  

Voter purges have occurred across the South for decades, but the Supreme Court case in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute fueled the practice. “Consequently, election officials are no longer accountable to the very voters they are removing from the rolls – Black and brown people,” Lambright said.  

In Georgia, 191,000 people may be purged from the voting rolls. “We know that voter purges are not about list maintenance,” Cotton said. “They are a far-right strategy to win elections.”  

The New Georgia Project is creating a list of persons who didn’t vote in the 2020 or 2022 elections and will encourage them to double check their election status.  

 Even as communities face voter purges, Black women – including the BSWC – are engaged in strategic and intentional organizing to defend the right to vote. “We are highlighting this and other heinous practices because we want our communities to maintain or regain their right to vote,” Thomas said. 

The BSWC is calling, texting and sending postcards to those who have been purged to make them aware and encourage them to register to vote.  

  In Tennessee, 100,000 Shelby County residents have been purged without notification.  

“Voter purges are an unethical use of power to remove citizens’ right to vote,” Greer said. “Not using your right to vote should not enable state officials to rescind the right to vote. It is your right, whether you use it or not. With 1 in 5 (20%) Black Tennesseans unable to vote, it is crucial that the Shelby County Board of Elections immediately stop all purges. The organization I lead, Memphis Artists for Change, launched a Swerve the Purge campaign to help protect the right to vote and to challenge purges.” 

In Louisiana, the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice is encouraging voters to double check their registration status, while it is urging election officials to publicize in local newspapers the names of persons purged. They are also asking officials to inform the organization of the places they are targeting for voter purges.  

“We plan to send postcards to voters encouraging them to double check their registration status and to register to vote if they’ve not already done so or if they’ve been removed from the rolls,” Shelton said. 

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Affirmative Action Decision Scapegoats Black and Brown Students

Posted on

For Immediate Release

June 29, 2023

ATLANTA – Today, Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project and member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court decisions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina:

“With its rulings in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, the U.S. Supreme Court just reified the racist structures that our country was built on and that still permeate nearly every facet of our society. While Black Americans and other Americans of color have made huge strides, especially in education and college admissions, no one can deny the fact that affirmative action has been a critical safeguard in ensuring Black and brown students, who already face so many systemic barriers, do not continue to get left behind. So-called colorblind practices exist solely to ease the guilt of the more privileged and pay lip service to the fantasy of a post-racial society that, unfortunately, too many people in this country wrongly believe is reality. 

“Instead of scapegoating Black and brown students by digesting the sour grapes propagated by a few more privileged students who did not get into the schools of their choice, the Court should have demurred and made a strong statement encouraging these elite institutions to dispense with legacy admissions and special preferences for the children of the monied class, because THAT is the real source of inequality where college admissions is concerned. 

“As a former academic and the mother of a recent college grad, an entering college freshman, and a soon-to-be college applicant, I’d much prefer to live in a world where I felt reassured that my Black children could rely solely on their stellar academics and extracurriculars to gain admission into our country’s best universities. Unfortunately, that’s not the world in which we live. My kids and so many others like them already must work twice as hard in school to overcome the systemic barriers placed before them, and now true equity in our higher education system is even farther out of reach.”

 

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