Donation Pledge: Free & Fair Elections
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It’s the final week of our Donation Pledge! Earlier this summer, we pledged to donate a total of $12,000 to organizations fighting for social justice and racial equity over an eight week period. Each week, one of our full-time employees was given the opportunity to select an organization to donate $1,500 to. For our final week, we are donating to Stacey Abrams' organization, Fair Fight. Fair Fight promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights.
With the 2020 presidential election less than 100 days away, which will possibly be the most important election in our lifetimes, talking about voter rights feels critical. As Americans, through voting, we are allowed to participate in making our voices and opinions heard to help mold and shape the country and the world we want to live in. Some of us may forget, or need reminding, that the right to vote for all was secured through much bloodshed and hard-fought battles by Black folks in this country. It was only in 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed that the right to vote for people of color was fully secured.
Voter suppression continues to occur in a variety of ways in the United States and the right to vote is ultimately not extended to everyone in the way that it constitutionally should be. We appreciate the hard work that Fair Fight is doing to raise awareness on voter suppression and the programs they have initiated to support voter protection.
“Voter suppression, it works by convincing people in practice that they don’t count. It is designed to silence those voices, say that there are people that do not count.”
— Stacey Abrams, Founder of Fair Fight
Providing people the assurance of their ability to cast an informed vote is one of the most crucial pieces to even begin leveling the field when it comes to racial equity. We were struck by these numbers sourced from White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo:
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Ten richest Americans: 100% white
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US Congress: 90% white
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US governors: 96% white
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Top military advisers: 100% white
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President and vice president: 100% white
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US House Freedom Caucus: 99% white
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Current US presidential cabinet: 91% white
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People who decide which TV shows we see: 93% white
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People who decide which books we read: 90% white
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People who decide which news is covered: 85% white
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People who decide which music is produced: 95% white
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People who directed the one hundred top-grossing films of all time, worldwide: 95% white
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Teachers: 82% white
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Full-time college professors: 84% white
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Owners of men’s professional football teams: 97% white
These facts immediately create a stark perspective in helping to illuminate the unjust imbalance so many Americans are fighting so hard for at the moment in the Black Lives Matter movement. Black and Brown folks need representation in places of power. Making sure every person can exercise their right to vote is an imperative step in this process.
Donate Directly to Fair Fight
We hope you will consider donating alongside us to Fair Fight this week. Learn more about Fair Fight’s work on their website and check out ways you can get involved with your state and local elections
Are you registered to vote? Have you requested your mail-in ballot? Do you feel able to work as a poll worker? We encourage you to take the time today to answer these questions!
When We All Vote makes registering to vote online a piece of cake! Make sure you and your friends and family are registered today.
Request your absentee ballot, get election day reminders and so much more on vote.org
Make sure you take the census to ensure that your community has access to the resources it needs over the next decade. This year Fair Fight has also developed Fair Count, an organization that is fighting to achieve a fair and accurate census count.