Black Southern Women’s Collective seeks change through voting

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Black Southern Women’s Collective recently celebrated National Voter Registration Day, a civic holiday meant to encourage citizens to register to vote. The collective, which organizes across the South to improve the material conditions of black people, has pledged to register thousands of voters.

“There is a direct link between registering to vote and holding politicians accountable for carrying out the will of the people,” Tameka Greer, executive director for Memphis Artists for Change, said. “We understand the power of the vote and have been encouraging the communities we work with to learn the rules for voting in their state, register to vote and then make a plan to turn out and vote.”

The Black Southern Women’s Collective is a network of black women organizers and executive directors committed to pooling resources and organizing insights to impact change in the South. The six-member group is organizing to advance voting rights and civic participation and bring an end to police violence, mass incarceration and other issues adversely impacting black communities. The cohort members are Nse Ufot, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Pastor Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; Ashley Shelton, executive director of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice; Akilah S. Wallace, executive director of Faith in Texas; Stephanie Strong, previously of Faith in Alabama; and Tameka Greer, executive director of the Memphis Artists for Change.

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice will engage high school students, historically black college and university students and persons displaced by Hurricane Ida. It will host two Rebuild-a-thons, where it will encourage community members to turn out to help rebuild the community and register to vote while there. The first Rebuild-a-thon event was held last Saturday, and the final event will be conducted this Saturday. The organization will also launch a “Roadmap to Recovery” report to detail ways local and state leaders can invest in communities hardest hit by Hurricane Ida and other storms.