NextGen America is making a difference one vote at a time with the help of their Black Lives Rising campaign – an effort to encourage young Black folks to vote for candidates that reflect our values. From Michigan to Florida, Black Lives Rising is a program that is dedicated to educating and registering young Black people to vote in the 2018 midterm elections. By focusing on HBCUs in battleground states they are able to help Black college students build Black political power with the vote.

The program encourages young Black people to vote with the help of over 100 Black activists, direct voter contact via Election centered events, and digital ads. Black Lives Rising has also partnered with organizations such as Black Futures Lab, Color Of Change PAC, Woke Vote and The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) for canvassing and projects. This year they’ve partnered with Blavity for a series of live events on HBCU campuses around the country in an effort to further promote voter engagement in the November midterm election.

We know life as a college student can be busy, but voting is a right we should all be knowledgeable about. Would you like more information on your political power or interested in registering? NextGen America may be hosting an event at your school! Check out where they’ll be visiting below and make sure you go out and attend!

  • Oct. 5th BLAVITY Black Trivia – 7pm Wayne State (Ballroom C in Student Center)

  • Oct 11th BLAVITY Black Trivia – 7pm Bennett College (Global Learning Center)

  • Oct. 14th Black Joy Brunch -2pm Bethune Cookman (Presidents Banquet Hall – Daytona Beach, FL)

  • Oct 20th Black Joy Brunch – 1pm Fayetteville State (Location TBA)

NextGen America has already seen success in various states with the Black Lives Rising goal of reaching one million Black voters, ranging from ages 18 to 35. The aim is for the Black youth vote to go viral.

According to an article from the New York Times, data compiled by Democratic polling firm Targetsmart, revealed that in 39 states a surge of adults aged 18 to 29 recently registered to vote. In Pennsylvania alone where Black Lives Rising activist Jodi Risper presides, the number of youth registrations drastically increased, with registered voters 34 and younger outnumbering registered voters 65 and older. An increasing number of young adult voter registrations has also been recorded in states like Arizona, Florida and Virginia.

In Florida, voter turnout increased during the Florida primary in college-area precincts like Alachua County, where Haitian activist Gracey Jean Bernard has led the way for Black Lives Rising as a Regional Field Director.  According to an article from McClatchy DC, this turnout may have been influenced by NextGen America, the March for Our Lives Campaign that was inspired by the students who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland earlier this year.

According to an article from the Associated Press a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV found that young Americans, ages 18 to 34 believe the midterm elections will allow them to have some say on how the government is run and are particularly interested in voting for candidates who have similar political views on issues like health care and immigration policy.

With continuing efforts to register more voters during the voter registration period, NextGen America has already covered a lot of ground. To date, NextGen America has registered over 200,000 youth across 11 states including California, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Paid for by NextGen Climate Action Committee; https://nextgenamerica.org; Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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