ATLANTA, Ga., Feb. 26, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Black Youth Vote Georgia (BYV GA) will host the intergenerational Stand With Georgia Virtual March to launch “Don’t Bother My Ballot,” a youth-led campaign to fight oppressive voter suppression laws recently introduced by Georgia legislators and to promote the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Proposed laws to make it harder for elderly, students, people with disabilities and BIPOC voters to exercise their right to vote include: cuts to early voting, stricter voter ID laws, absentee ballot restrictions, and purges of voter rolls.
PHJTO CAPTION: Black Youth Vote Georgia canvassers join GA Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda and other groups to get Black voters to the polls during the Georgia Senate runoff elections in Jan. 2021.
Civil rights and labor leaders, clergy, activists and a broad range of organizational leaders will join BYV GA, an affiliate of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s (NCBCP) Black Youth Vote program, to send a bold message to legislators that they will not stand idly by and accept a new era of racist voter suppression schemes.
“There is an urgent need to stop the ongoing efforts to disenfranchise Black and Brown voters with their New Jim Crow legislation,” said Jared Sawyer, Jr., co-coordinator of Black Youth Vote Georgia. “People across the country supported our efforts to get our voters to the polls in the 2020 elections. We’re asking people to stand with Georgia once again because, as the late Congressman John Lewis said, ‘We’re not going back. We are only moving forward.’”
The March will be streamed live at www.standwithga.com, YouTube and through Facebook Watch on Black Youth Vote GA’s Facebook Page. People can find more information on the March and register to attend by visiting https://www.standwithga.com/ or text ‘MYVOTE’ to 44222.
WHO:
GEORGIA SPEAKERS (CONFIRMED):
Congresswoman Nikema Williams – GA-5 District Representative
Ambassador Andrew Young – Civil Rights Leader
Felicia Moore – Atlanta City Council
Charlie Fleming –Georgia AFL-CIO
Jared Sawyer Jr. – Black Youth Vote GA
MaryPat Hector – Black Youth Vote GA
Helen Butler –Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda
Felicia Davis – Clayton County Black Women’s Roundtable
Daniel Blackman – Climate Activist
Ariel Singleton – Georgia Stand-Up
Attorney Gerald Griggs
Rev. Stephen Green
NATIONAL SPEAKERS (CONFIRMED):
Melanie Campbell –National Coalition on Black Civic Participation/Black Women’s Roundtable
Rev. Al Sharpton – President, National Action Network
Benjamin Crump – National Civil Rights Attorney
Richard Womack, Jr. – AFL-CIO
PARTIAL ORGANIZATION LIST:
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
NAACP
Headcount
Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda
HBCU Green Fund
Black Youth Vote
Black Male Initiative
Georgia Stand Up
The People’s Uprising
CivicGeorgia
Rise
March for Our Lives GA
Youth Power Purpose
WHEN:
DATE: Saturday, Feb 27, 2021; TIME: 11 AM ET
WHERE/HOW:
Live stream: http://www.standwithga.com/
Facebook Watch: Black Youth Vote GA
Register for the March at www.standwithga.com or text ‘MYVOTE’ to 44222
ABOUT BLACK YOUTH VOTE GEORGIA:
Black Youth Vote Georgia is an affiliate of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s Black Youth Vote! Empowerment Program, a program focused on engaging and training a new generation of civic leaders and political activists. Through BYV!, students, community advocates and young professionals have gained essential tools that enable them to lead their communities to participate fully in the democratic process and attain greater social and economic justice. As a result, BYV! can boast about their triumphs in reversing the downward spiral among young voters and educating voters who are increasingly disenfranchised and alienated from the electoral and legislative process.
MEDIA CONTACT
Edrea Davis
PHONE: 770.961.6200/818.613.9521 (cell/text)
SOCIAL:
https://www.facebook.com/blackyouthvotega
https://www.instagram.com/blackyouthvotega/
News Source: Black Youth Vote Georgia