Tag Archives: voter suppression

Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand Pledge to Donate Millions to Groups Fighting Voter Suppression

Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand Pledge to Donate Millions to Groups Fighting Voter Suppression

Michael Jordan and his Jordan Brand made a commitment to contribute to the fight for social justice, and they’re donating millions to combat voter suppression in their latest initiative.

The Nike-owned brand announced their $2.5 million donation to three organizations to “support reformative practices that drive real change in the Black community.”

“There is a long history of oppression against Black Americans that holds us back from full participation in American society. We understand that one of the main ways we can change systemic racism is at the polls,” Jordan said in a statement announcing the donation. “We know it will take time for us to create the change we want to see, but we are working quickly to take action for the Black community’s voice to be heard.”

$1 million each were awarded to NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted People and Families Movement, meanwhile, Black Voters Matter received $500,000.

In June, MJ and his brand announced their 10-year plan to donate $100 million to directly impact the fight against systematic oppression and racism.

“The $100 million commitment was just the start. We are moving from commitment to action. Our initial partners can directly impact the social and political well-being of the Black community,” Jordan Brand President, Craig Williams said in a statement. “We will have a disciplined focus on social justice, economic justice and education, as the most effective ways for us to eliminate the systemic racism that remains in society.”

The post Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand Pledge to Donate Millions to Groups Fighting Voter Suppression appeared first on The Source.

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LeBron James and Other NBA Players Raised $100K to Pay Debts to Help Former Felons in Florida Vote

LeBron James and Other NBA Players Raised $100K To Pay Debts to Help Former Felons in Florida Vote

An organization founded by LeBron James and other Black athletes and artists are raising money for former felons in Florida who are unable to vote in elections due to outstanding fines and fees.

The organization “More Than A Vote” is a group that fighting against voter oppression was created this year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African American who died of suffocating at the hands of Minneapolis police when a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost eight minutes.

According to More Than A Vote, one-third of the 1.4 million Florida felons are Black.

The organization is announced that the money will go to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition according to Politico. The organization’s main initiative is to get individuals who have completed felony sentences registered to vote ahead of the November presidential election. The Florida Coalition pushed the amendment to Florida’s lifelong ban on people who have been convicted of felonies.

The majority of Florida voters about 65% voted in favor of restoring voting rights for ex-felons not convicted of murder or sexual offenses after they complete their sentences, including parole or probation in November of 2018. Then in January 2019, the amendment called the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative went into effect.

In that following year around June, Florida’s Republican governor, Rick DeSantis, signed into law an order that requires felons to pay back all fines and fees associated with their conviction before they can become eligible to vote. Sometimes, those payments amount to thousands of dollars. Others like the order to a poll tax.

“The right to vote should not come with a price tag,” the organization wrote in a series of posts on social media. “That’s why More Than A Vote is supporting the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help formerly incarcerated American citizens – too many of them Black and brown – pay off their outstanding fines and fees and register to vote in the 2020 election and beyond.”

The post LeBron James and Other NBA Players Raised $100K to Pay Debts to Help Former Felons in Florida Vote appeared first on The Source.

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Killer Mike Discusses How Voter Suppression Affects Black Communities (Video)

Outside of his work as a veteran solo artist and one-half of Run The Jewels, Killer Mike is a well-known entrepreneur and social activist. In the latest episode from BET’s Finding Justice, Mike uses his platform to discuss yet another important topic as one of Rap’s more trusted social voices.

In a video shot in front of an Atlanta polling station, Killer Mike discusses how voter suppression affects Black communities, including the critical importance of local elections. In the opening, Mike unpacks the election currently running in his home state of Georgia. The Grammy Award-winning rapper begins, “We have a statewide election going on in Georgia where we pick our governor and our lieutenant governor. We vote on a few amendments, like a forestry amendment we have. There’s a homestead exemption for people 64-and-over. So, we’re voting on important issues trying to take care of our community.”

Killer Mike & DJ Envy Have A Heated Exchange About Public vs. Private School

Then, Mike dives into the rich history of the Collier Heights community in which he grew up. “Collier Heights community is a part of Atlanta, Georgia. It is essentially a community that was gentrified by Black people in the ’50s, and it has survived and thrived for over 50 years now. I grew up in the Collier Heights-Adamsville community. That is a community that when segregation was happening, Black people had to live together. So if you were rich and Black, poor and Black, working class Black, you all live together. I grew up in these houses that are working class houses that border a richer enclave. Herman Russel lived here. [James Edward] “Billy” McKinney lived here. I’m proud to be from here. I’m proud my family still lives here.”

Continuing, Mike discusses the importance of local elections nationwide, using Georgia to illustrate. “The state of Georgia gets a chance to pick a governor. That is important for state allocations of funds and resources, and who gets what, and what goes where. But, [local elections] is why voting is important. So, before you ever get to what your governor controls, what your city controls, and those statewide amendments locally. So, if you take something like the 65-and-older homestead exemption, that’s going to give people who live in this neighborhood. This neighborhood is a 65-and-older neighborhood. So, these people that are being priced [and] pushed out, or gouged out by gentrification—by property values going up because their neighbors are moving in will get some tax relief. They were promised that by the last governor. They were actually promised to freeze [taxes], and they didn’t get it. So that’s an important deal. So that’s why I came out and voted in a state-wide election, but it affects these people locally, and these are the people that are essentially reared.”

Andrew Yang Is The Rakim Of Politics (Video)

To finish, Killer Mike discusses the tactics used by both Democrats and Republicans to garner votes during a time of social unrest, and how to combat it with your vote. “When politicians on both sides, when they think they’re going to do okay, no one really cares if you come out and vote, right? But, when racists get heated, and there is a lot on the line, [across elections] especially between Democrats and Republicans, everybody’s using every trick in the book they can. What we’re finding out is that some of the tactics that are being used in terms of purging people who may be questionable on things in terms of what paperwork is filled out how feels an awfully a lot like voter suppression. [It] feels an awfully a lot like, ‘I’m going to deny the proletariat the ability to vote based on my want to win.’ I don’t believe that our ancestors solely died for us to vote, but I believe that they died for our freedom. And I believe that freedom is necessary and by any means necessary you should acquire it, and voting is one of the means that is necessary.”

Ambrosia For Heads recently sat down with Mike to discuss his Netflix television series, Trigger Warning, which has become yet another creative outlet the R.T.J cohort uses to combine all of his characteristics, convictions, and lessons into one cohesive dialogue. That video is available on AFH TV to watch in full. Subscribe to watch in full. We are currently offering free 30-day trials.

Outside of his work as a veteran solo artist and one-half of Run The Jewels, Killer Mike is a well-known entrepreneur and social activist. In the latest episode from BET’s Finding Justice, Mike uses his platform to discuss yet another important topic as one of Rap’s more trusted social voices.

In a video shot in front of an Atlanta polling station, Killer Mike discusses how voter suppression affects Black communities, including the critical importance of local elections. In the opening, Mike unpacks the election currently running in his home state of Georgia. The Grammy Award-winning rapper begins, “We have a statewide election going on in Georgia where we pick our governor and our lieutenant governor. We vote on a few amendments, like a forestry amendment we have. There’s a homestead exemption for people 64-and-over. So, we’re voting on important issues trying to take care of our community.”

Killer Mike & DJ Envy Have A Heated Exchange About Public vs. Private School

Then, Mike dives into the rich history of the Collier Heights community in which he grew up. “Collier Heights community is a part of Atlanta, Georgia. It is essentially a community that was gentrified by Black people in the ’50s, and it has survived and thrived for over 50 years now. I grew up in the Collier Heights-Adamsville community. That is a community that when segregation was happening, Black people had to live together. So if you were rich and Black, poor and Black, working class Black, you all live together. I grew up in these houses that are working class houses that border a richer enclave. Herman Russel lived here. [James Edward] “Billy” McKinney lived here. I’m proud to be from here. I’m proud my family still lives here.”

Continuing, Mike discusses the importance of local elections nationwide, using Georgia to illustrate. “The state of Georgia gets a chance to pick a governor. That is important for state allocations of funds and resources, and who gets what, and what goes where. But, [local elections] is why voting is important. So, before you ever get to what your governor controls, what your city controls, and those statewide amendments locally. So, if you take something like the 65-and-older homestead exemption, that’s going to give people who live in this neighborhood. This neighborhood is a 65-and-older neighborhood. So, these people that are being priced [and] pushed out, or gouged out by gentrification—by property values going up because their neighbors are moving in will get some tax relief. They were promised that by the last governor. They were actually promised to freeze [taxes], and they didn’t get it. So that’s an important deal. So that’s why I came out and voted in a state-wide election, but it affects these people locally, and these are the people that are essentially reared.”

Andrew Yang Is The Rakim Of Politics (Video)

To finish, Killer Mike discusses the tactics used by both Democrats and Republicans to garner votes during a time of social unrest, and how to combat it with your vote. “When politicians on both sides, when they think they’re going to do okay, no one really cares if you come out and vote, right? But, when racists get heated, and there is a lot on the line, [across elections] especially between Democrats and Republicans, everybody’s using every trick in the book they can. What we’re finding out is that some of the tactics that are being used in terms of purging people who may be questionable on things in terms of what paperwork is filled out how feels an awfully a lot like voter suppression. [It] feels an awfully a lot like, ‘I’m going to deny the proletariat the ability to vote based on my want to win.’ I don’t believe that our ancestors solely died for us to vote, but I believe that they died for our freedom. And I believe that freedom is necessary and by any means necessary you should acquire it, and voting is one of the means that is necessary.”

Ambrosia For Heads recently sat down with Mike to discuss his Netflix television series, Trigger Warning, which has become yet another creative outlet the R.T.J cohort uses to combine all of his characteristics, convictions, and lessons into one cohesive dialogue. That video is available on AFH TV to watch in full. Subscribe to watch in full. We are currently offering free 30-day trials.

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

Click Here to Discuss in the Forums

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Stacey Abrams Calls For Georgia Secretary Of State Brian Kemp To Resign

Georgia Secretary of State And Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Kemp Holds Primary Night Event In Athens, Georgia

Source: Jessica McGowan / Getty

Stacey Abrams is calling for Brian Kemp to resign from office following all the confusion he’s been causing voters. As Secretary of State, Kemp is responsible for oversight of elections and voter registration.

It just so happens that Kemp is also running against Democrat Abrams in the race for governor—we’re sure you can see the conflict of interest there. This week, Kemp has been up to his neck in accusations that he is suppressing the Black vote with an “exact match” law that put 53,000 voter registration applications on hold. 70% of the applications that were placed on hold came from African Americans.

Now, Abrams’ spokeswoman Abigail Collazo asked that Kemp step down from his current office so that “Georgia voters can have confidence that their Secretary of State competently and impartially oversee this election,” CNN states.

A Celebration of Women For Abrams

Source: Prince Williams / Getty

Meanwhile, Kemp claims it has “never been easier to vote.” He said in a statement, according to the site: “While outside agitators disparage this office and falsely attack us, we have kept our head down and remained focused on ensuring secure, accessible, and fair elections for all voters. The fact is that it has never been easier to register to vote and get engaged in the electoral process in Georgia, and we are incredibly proud to report this new record.”

Not surprisingly, Kemp blamed Abrams for any registration issues. CNN states: “Kemp also placed blame on the New Georgia Project, which was founded by Abrams when she was the Georgia House minority leader, and ahead of the 2014 elections set out to sign up 800,000 new young and minority voters. Kemp responded to the influx of new applications that year by launching an investigation into its practices. No allegations of wrongdoing were ever brought directly against the group and Abrams, her campaign said, is no longer involved in its activities. In a tweet on Wednesday night, Kemp again sought to place the onus for the flagged registrations on the New Georgia Project, saying it had ‘submitted sloppy forms.’”

Stay tuned.

Photo: Getty

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