DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Black organizations have historically been at the forefront of civic engagement, and as Election Day gets closer, the groups are making sure the community is ready to vote.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said the group wants to make sure every eligible voter is able to make their voice heard.
“It’s important for us to engage, that our constitution applies to all citizens and everyone is legally entitled to cast an effective ballot, they should be allowed to do so, but we also need to take responsibility and turn out to vote. It’s really important for our voices to be heard and our voices are heard through the ballot box,” Johnson said.
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Historically Black sororities and fraternities, also known as the Divine Nine, are making sure peoples’ voices are heard as well.
Christina Stallings, chapter president of the Jacksonville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, says the group’s social action committee is getting out the vote through different initiatives, including forums with local candidates and registering people to vote across the city.
“We want you to go to the polls, we want you to vote, but don’t go alone. We want you to take someone with you, whether it’s your family member, your friends or just a coworker. We really want you to vote,” Stallings said.
Delta Sigma Theta is also partnering with other organizations in the Divine Nine, a council that has a history of social action and civic engagement that spans for more than 100 years.
Recently, more than 100 members joined the Jacksonville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi for a voter mobilization event on the northwest side during the Raines-Ribault football game.
“I really believe that the Divine Nine, we all are on the same page when it comes to voting. We have a responsibility, and that responsibility is to work together, because we’re stronger together. One of the things that we do, we have the same ideas about social disparities, economic disparities, healthcare, education. We come together, we’re stronger together, we can impact the bottom line. That’s getting people to the polls when they need to get to the polls,” she said.
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Retired political science professor Dr. Marcella Washington said while these groups have a history of reaching marginalized groups, the work on addressing the needs of those communities must continue.
“These groups are very important, they have hundreds of thousands of members,” Washington said. “We got to get down into areas where people, especially the working class African American community, where there is a feeling of despair, that has not been touched on enough. It is touched on, but not enough.”
Johnson, who is also a member of Omega Psi Phi, agreed, especially when it comes to making sure marginalized groups are represented politically.
“It’s important for our institutions, whether it’s our fraternities and sororities, civic organizations, we are engaged. We have a responsibility to continue the legacy of participation in the Black community to make this democracy work for all,” he said.
The NAACP Jacksonville Branch also is giving free rides to the polls. Call 904-764-1753 for more information.