Its 6:59am and I’m sitting in the Laurel, Maryland Community Center waiting to vote. Wow! I didn’t know I had so many Black neighbors (I don’t get out much). There is easily almost 500 people here already. They just opened the polling booths and you would’ve thought that the Ravens just scored a touchdown…the crowd went bananas!

I’m a bit overwhelmed right now - trying not to cry in front of these strangers I now share a kinship with because we are participating in a historic event together. I’ve been on the road nonstop it seems working to see this day. Not just with regards to voting but everything I do with the NAACP.

Since I was 14 years old I’ve wanted to be a civil rights worker. I’m still not exactly sure why - strangely enough, maybe it was that picture I saw of two young boys that were lynched for trying to register Black people to vote. And yet here I am today, in 2008 - standing in a gym in a middle class neighborhood, with a bunch of Black people about to exercise their right to vote.

Today, a Black man in America could really become the President of these United States of America. A Black man who became his party’s nominee on the same day in 1955 when the body of his fellow Chicagoan, Emmitt Till’s mutilated body was found in Mississippi. A Black man who less than 200 years ago wasn’t even considered a man by this country’s government. Please understand that this isn’t partisan talk - this is Providence. The manifestation of God’s benevelance. Tthe personification of ancestors’ prayers.

In memory and in honor of those two young men and countless others, I am humbled and grateful to God for allowing me to experience this moment in time.

Stefanie Brown
National Director
NAACP Youth & College Division

November 1, 2008

Youth and college students representing Georgia area universities came to Columbus, Ga. on a crisp Saturday morning “fired up and ready to go” to kick-off their part of the NAACP Youth & College “Think Hard, Vote Hard” Bus Tour.

Just outside of the A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium where football fans were firing up their barbeque grills to tailgate for the Fountain Classic, students, NAACP volunteers and other participants were fired up with excitement as they marched down the street holding an NAACP “Vote Hard” banner repeating in unison: “I know I can…vote on Tuesday.”

Once the marchers reached the rallying site, NAACP youth college presidents representing chapters such as Morehouse, Spelman and the University of West Georgia College, charged the crowd and surrounding game day tailgaters with pumping music and words of “getting out the vote.”

NAACP President and CEO, Benjamin Todd Jealous addressed the youth and was excited to see their enthusiasm, as many were new to the political process but very engaged. Following, was a step show performance, closing the rally whereupon students were greeted by President Jealous. Students and NAACP volunteers boarded their respective buses that would take them into various predominately Black neighborhoods to engage residents to learn if they had voted and provided educational materials if they were not aware of their voting rights. Cities on the tour included: Talbotton, Thomaston, Macon (Lunch Rally), Jonesboro and Marietta.

During their whistle stop in Marietta, Paine College students met with NAACP Cobb Branch President Deane Bonner and others at the Cobb Branch office, who expressed their gratitude for what the youth were doing.

History and pre-law student Keishaundra Rucker, who is also the Paine College NAACP President, along with psychology major Oscar Jessie of Augusta, were one of several students who answered questions from Marietta residents ranging from what to do if they were on probation, what they should be prepared for when they went to the polls and where to report issues if they experienced problems making their vote count.

Final activities culminated that evening at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Bus Tour Update #3
10pm

Demetrius Fisher

The NAACP Vote Hard Bus Tour just pulled away from Moncks Corner, South Carolina on our final stop for this weekend. What a fantastic time we had tonight. There were about 400 people at tonight’s rally, and media everywhere so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these young people get their picture in the paper!

We were hosted tonight by Joshua United Methodist Church, and we can’t thank them enough. We had local ministers giving the invocation and benediction, and a whole host of NAACP leadership to thank this group of youth for all that they have done today.

NAACP board members Madie Robinson from Florence, SC and Gloria Sweet-Love from Brownsville, TN (board member and President of the Tennessee State Conference) came in to cheer on the crowd. We also had Branch President Andrea Glove, treasurer Alicia Brooks, Claflin University NAACP Chapter President Britney Tringle and Akeem Brown, the Political Action Director of the South Carolina Youth & College Division.

Think about it. In one day these seven buses hit seven cities across South Carolina with voter education and get out the vote material. The three rallies combined drew well over a thousand people, these young people knocked on hundreds of doors to talk to people about voting, and we passed out thousands of pieces of literature about voting rights and voter education. That’s an amazing accomplishment, no wonder they’re so exhausted!

In the next ten days, I hope that you will take the lead from these youth and do something to tell the people around you just how important it is to use your vote.

Check back next weekend when the Vote Hard Bus Tour will be back on the road!

Demetrius

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Bus Tour Update
2:45pm, Columbia Stop

Demetrius Fisher

This day just keeps getting better. We just pulled away from Columbia, South Carolina, where we had over 600 people at the NAACP Vote Hard Rally. It was so big that Fox News and some of the local papers showed up! I just can’t tell you how energizing it is for these young people who got up at 4:30 this morning to get out here and educate voters.

The rally was at the Allen University Student Center, and people were packed inside and outside. We had a DJ on the lawn and there were people everywhere with NAACP signs and shirts, people were even stopping their cars to see what was going on! Even better was that Benedict College is literally across the street from the student center, and it was their Homecoming. So we had lots of people coming over from Benedict to join us too.

Dr. Lonnie Randolph, the President of the South Carolina State Conference, helped get the crowd charged up. We also had Judge Mildred McDuffy from Columbia, President of the Allen University Student Government Association John Doctor, and Shamieka Johnson, the President of the Allen University chapter of the NAACP.

The canvassing is being really well received in the community too; we have people telling us that they are so happy to see the young people out there walking door to door. They are listening to the youth leaders, taking the literature and putting up our yard signs on the spot.

These young people will be exhausted by tonight, I know I will be, but this is a day that they will never forget. We’re teaching a whole new generation to be community activists, and that’s worth getting up at 4am to do any day of the week.

We have three more stops to go, then our final rally tonight in the Charleston area at 7pm, so look for my last update late tonight.

Shamieka Johnson
President, Allen University NAACP

It is just amazing to see how many young people were willing to get up so early and be so pumped up to get out there and educate voters. This is definitely one of the most inspiring things I have ever taken part in. The NAACP is so much bigger than just my chapter, and we can do so much when we work together.

One of the best things is the rally really brought unity to the Allen University campus. It brought people out who didn’t really know what the NAACP was about, and that was wonderful. We got a chance to network, and even increase the membership.

Akeem Brown
Political Action Director
South Carolina Youth & College Division

What has inspired me most about the day is seeing the youth out there. It’s not just college students; a lot of them are from the Youth Councils. These are high school students who can’t vote themselves. But they are out here pushing others who can vote to do it and giving them the information they need.

We got up at 4:30 this morning, but the energy of the day is keeping us motivated. We have rallies throughout the day, and just being together is keeping us energized and moving. Everyone in these communities has opened their arms to us and has been as hospitable as they can be. It’s just wonderful.

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Bus Tour Update
9:30am October 25th

We just left the kick-off rally in York, South Carolina, and it was such a wonderful experience. I opened the rally with a few remarks, then our Bus Tour Musician John Fitzgerald McGill performed some old spirituals. We had words of inspiration and encouragement from Rev. Charles Darden, Pastor, New Home AME Zion Church. Then the Mayor of York, branch and State Conference leadership, city officials, and Congressman John Spratts got the crowd really charged up!

We have seven buses making their way across South Carolina today to make sure young people know just how important it is to get out there and cast your vote. It’s not just the about the President, it’s about the mayor of your town, the school board, the sheriff, the people who are going to make decisions that effect how you live every single day.

Judging by the number of young people who got up at 4 am to get on the bus, I know this is going to be a big success. These youth are fired up! We have jam-packed buses from South Carolina State University, Claflin University and the Orangeburg Youth Council with us this morning, and as we make our way to the next three whistle stops we’ll be meeting up with buses from Allen University, Winthrop University, Rock Hill and Western York.

It is just amazing to see these young people so energized and excited about being part of the political process. Many of them are doing this for the very first time, and they couldn’t wait to hit the streets and distribute pamphlets about voting in the community. I wish you all could be here with me, it makes you feel so very proud about the work that the NAACP does to engage our youth.

We’re on the bus on our way to the next rally in Columbia at noon, but we’ll be stopping in Clover and Rock Hill on the way. Check back this afternoon and I’ll post news from the Columbia rally.

Demetrius Fisher

I’m not exactly sure what my expectations were when I woke up this morning. I knew that it was going to be an arduous day because we were traveling to Houston and Galveston to assess damage and assist our units impacted by the hurricane. What’s interesting is that as we were traveling to Houston, there were electronic signs on the highway telling drivers not to go to Houston or Beaumont, Texas. In hindsight, this was ironic because when we finally made it to Houston to visit local shelters in the Black community it seems as though “aid” was told not to enter these areas as well.

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While most kids were home playing Nintendo, 14-year old Benjamin Todd Jealous and his friends were out commanding card tables and conducting voter registration drives. After registering thousands of new voters, Jealous realized the power of community organizing. Now, twenty–one years later, he is combining his organizing skills — honed as a youth by the NAACP — with emerging technologies to transform the organization that he now leads. As the youngest President in the NAACP’s nearly 100-year history, and a fifth-generation NAACP member, Jealous starts his tenure doing what he does best. Getting people involved.  “As an organization, our goal is to make the promise of this country real for all families,” said Jealous, “and this starts with making all Americans regular voters. (more…)

“Its Katrina all over again”…

When I received word last night that I was to fly to Texas in the morning to assist NAACP units with hurricane relief efforts I honestly questioned my reason for going. According to reports and images on television, the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike wasn’t nearly as bad as what was seen after Hurricane Katrina. This time there were no pictures of crying babies in need of formula. No stories of mass “looting” by people in search of food and supplies. No video of government helicopters flying past citizens screaming for help on the tops of submerged houses.

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In the same place, at the same dais where President Abraham Lincoln and famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered inspiring remarks, the NAACP marked the 100^th anniversary of the Springfield race riot in Illinois today.

The Springfield race riot is considered one of the pivotal events in American history that led to the formation of the NAACP.

Following the relocation of two black suspects from the local jail on false charges of rape and ‘crimes against whites’ on Aug. 14, 1908, a white mob set on vigilante justice ransacked Springfield’s small black community (known as the Badlands), forcing families to flee, decimating 40 homes and businesses, lynching two prominent black men, shooting a white man and injuring others. It took up to 5,000 Illinois national guardsmen to end the two-day riot.

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The NAACP Presidential Candidates’ Civil Rights Questionnaire 2008, which includes responses from both presumptive presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama is currently available on the NAACP website…Read Full Report