NNPA Special - NNPA Black Voter Drive

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Nine years ago, the Supreme Court gutted the pre-clearance protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That has led to a proliferation of states imposing voter suppression laws. This year, 49 states have introduced bills making it harder to vote. These bills have been enacted into law in 19 states, with two states of the old Confederacy, Georgia and Texas, leading the way with particularly egregious measures.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — When selected for the position of pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Georgia, Warnock was the youngest ever to serve in that leadership role at the historic church. As the now Senator Reverend Warnock, in addition to a seat on the church dais, he fills a critical seat in the U.S. Capitol Building and Senate.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Yes, your vote does matter. Those opposing the Governor are counting on Democrats, mostly people of color in California, not returning their ballots in a failure to vote. Governor Newsom has made mistakes, but so have others. He has been concerned and is concerned about human life while others are more worried about keeping businesses open, regardless of how many people die.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The multiracial population, which was 9 million in 2010 and grew to 33.8 million by 2020, reflects two things. First, the rate of racial intermarriage has increased, leading to an increase of mixed-race children. Equally importantly, the number of people who are willing to self-identify as mixed race has grown. People who once hid their mixed-race identity or felt pressured to choose one identity or the other, now feel free to embrace the totality of their identity.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The Texas bill is the latest in a national GOP push to make voting less easy after President Biden defeated Donald Trump by seven million votes in November 2020. The underlying argument made by Republicans, which is part of the “big lie” messaging, is a manufactured need for “voter security.” New voting restrictions led by Republican Governors and legislatures have taken place in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona as well.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “These laws suppress voting methods that enrich our democracy and lead to high turnout: banning ballot drop boxes and mail-in voting, reducing early voting days and hours, restricting who can get a mail-in ballot, prohibiting officials from promoting the use of mail-in ballots even when voters qualify, even criminalizing the distribution of water to voters waiting in the long lines these laws create,” said the March on Washington organization.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — More than 529,000 Americans have died since the pandemic began, and nearly 30 million have contracted the virus. “We all lost something,” the President declared. “A collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, a year filled with the loss of life. In the loss, we saw how much there was to gain. An appreciation, respect and gratitude,” he uttered. Within his first hours in office, President Biden launched a comprehensive strategy to defeat the pandemic. He noted that in the seven weeks since, the Administration has delivered more than 81 million vaccinations and more people can visit their loved ones again.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “We applaud the confirmation of Rep. Fudge as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” Marcela Howell, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, responded in a statement. “Her appointment comes at a pivotal time when her leadership is sorely needed. The U.S. faces a severe housing crisis as millions of residents struggle to pay their rent and mortgages due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “As the President said last week, once the rescue plan is signed, we’ll be able to start getting payments out this month,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Treasury and IRS are working tirelessly to make that happen. They are building on lessons learned from previous rounds to increase the households that will get electronic payments, which are substantially faster than checks,” Psaki added.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — "I think if people begin to associate this legislation with what happened to the descendants of enslaved Africans as a human rights violation, the sordid past that violated the human rights of all of us who are descendants of enslaved Africans, I think that we can find common ground to pass this legislation," said Congresswoman Jackson Lee in reference to H.R. 40, the reparations legislation that focuses on truth, racial healing, and transformation.