by Sonny Messiah Jiles
Black America stands at the crossroads of a political paradigm that will determine the balance of power in the United States Senate. This is not about a political party. This is about how the issues relevant to the lives of Black Americans are addressed in the halls of Congress.
Yes, African Americans across the nation flexed their political muscle (need the total number of Black voters) and demonstrated our collective power from the West Coast beaches to the East Coast high rises to the Northern and Midwest farmlands and big cities to the Southern Belt and Gulf Coast. That was Round One.
Today, ten Black newspaper publishers have joined forces in a national initiative to encourage all African-American voters to focus their attention and resources on the two senatorial races in Georgia because of the impact it will have on the lives of Black Americans. The Atlanta Voice, St. Louis American, Washington Informer, New York Amsterdam News, Michigan Chronicle, Seattle Times, Sacramento Observer, Dallas Weekly and the Houston Defender under the banner of “WORD IN BLACK” share the importance of exercising the right to vote and emphasize a three-point action plan for Blacks in the United States of America to implement.
Now its time for Round Two and you say “I don’t live in Georgia or I cannot vote in Georgia.” Granted this is true. But the real issue is no matter where you live, how Georgia goes determines the opportunities for change for African Americans in this country.
Changes that impact your life and your children’s lives:
–Addressing the economic mobility of African American
–Closing the health disparity gap
–Confronting the inequities in the criminal justice system
–Improving the quality education of our children
–Reducing student debt
–Ensuring the protection of voting rights
and the list goes on….
Do not sit back and think your job is done when the last lap of the race is yet to be completed. DO YOUR PART and GET IN THE GAME. Voter registration in Georgia ends Monday, Dec 7 and early voting kicks off on Monday, Dec 14. This is about much more than Georgia, it is about the future of Black America.
3 THINGS YOU CAN DO
TO GET THE BLACK VOTE
OUT IN GEORGIA
CALL FAMILY. (Madea, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, 2nd and 3rd removed) who live in Georgia and make sure they are registered to vote by MONDAY, DECEMBER 7. Then call them again when early voting starts on MONDAY, DECEMBER 14 and encourage them to vote for you and the millions of Blacks folks across this country who cannot vote.
CALL FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES. (Old classmate, former colleague, ex-boy or girlfriend, other friends who have moved to Georgia, and anyone else you know of who is voting age and lives in Georgia)
VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME, TALENT OR MONEY. Sign up to work phone banks, tag folks you know in Atlanta on social media, donate money to the candidate of your choice.
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