Launches THE SOUTH IS RISING
Voter Outreach Tour!
BVMF BUS ROLLS TO FLORIDA PRIMARIES!
3 States in 7 Days!
IF YOU'VE BEEN riding down the the highways of Georgia, Mississippi or Florida perhaps you have seen a big shiny black bus with BLACK VOTERS MATTER plastered on it's side.

....THAT WOULD BE US!

Black Voters Matter Fund has launched our The South Is Rising tour and traveled to more than 18 communities and 3 states in 7 days! We have been working hard to energize, empower and mobilize Black voters in the South!

On Tuesday, Florida made history by electing the first African-American as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the history of the state. A large part of this victory resulted from high Black voter turnout in key counties around the state. Black Voters Matter Fund worked in Florida with our partners and helped with GOTV efforts to mobilize Black voters. The South Is Rising!

As you may also know, last week the Board of Elections in Randolph County, Georgia proposed to close 75% of the polling places. We along many others saw this as another attempt to suppress the Black vote before the Nov. 6th election. Therefore, Black Voters Matter Fund and our Georgia partners immediately started organizing with the local community against the voter suppression proposal to send a message that Black voters are willing to fight for the Right to Vote.

We are happy to report that on last Friday the Randolph county Board of Elections reversed its position and voted against the proposal in a public meeting that lasted less than 2 minutes. Again, Black Voters Matter was honored to work with local grassroots organizers and partners to help stop the proposal. This is another example of HOW we know that grassroots ORGANIZING WORKS and that The South Is Rising!

Communities across the south are organizing for the midterm elections. Therefore, on the The South Is Rising tour we have focused on connecting and providing support to grassroots groups around the region that are leading mobilization activities throughout the Black Belt, Mississippi Delta, Florida Panhandle and Central Florida regions. Below is a short list of some of the communities we visited:

Tour Stops
Stockbridge, Georgia
Warner Robins, Georgia,
Fort Valley, Georgia
Albany, Georgia
Americus, Georgia
Dawson, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Jackson, Mississippi
Cleveland, Mississippi
Greenville, Mississippi
Pensacola, Florida
Panama City, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Gifford, Florida
Fort Pierce, Florida

In addition to the tour stops, BVMF provided resources and financial support to grassroots groups in the following ways:

  • Donated brand new tablets for GOTV canvassing efforts (GA)
  • Provided civic engagement grants to grassroots groups (GA, FL, AL, TN)
  • Supported GOTV efforts for the Florida primaries (FL)
  • Sponsored voter outreach rallies (FL, GA, MS)
  • Organized anti-voter suppression rally in Randolph County (GA)
  • Supported Voter Outreach and Voter Registration Canvass Teams (GA, MS, FL)
  • Hosted GOTV pizza party on Florida A & M campus (FL)
  • Provided voter education campaign literature and Election Day signs (FL,GA,MS)
  • Coordinated volunteer peer to peer texting and phone banking teams
  • Hosted Community issue forums (GA, FL, MS)
  • Sponsored Election Day poll parties (FL)
  • Provided Transportation support (FL)

With less than 2.5 months left before the November 6th election we think it is critical to build on the momentum that is taking place in the South. In addition to traveling to these communities we are continuing our ongoing voter engagement work like voter registration, phone banking, peer to peer text messaging and community rallies. To support this work DONATE HERE!!

We want to build on our work from the primaries, therefore we need your continued support to build political infrastructure, support grassroots groups and engage Black voters in the region. Your help is critical to our success. We need our partners to DONATE HERE!

It is because of supporters and donors like you that we have been able to continue to support, build upon and strengthen the grassroots and Black political infrastructure in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina. When we work together we WIN! Thank you.

The South is RISING!

Yours In Progress,
LaTosha & Cliff
Check out Video Highlights from Black Voters Matter:
The South Is Rising Tour.
“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”