Black Voters Matter tour bus makes stop at Albany State on Wednesday

ALBANY – A day after hitting the Fort Valley State University campus, the Black Voters Matter bus rolled into Albany State University on Wednesday to educate voters and generate excitement for the November election.

The Black Youth Renaissance tour, which kicked off on Tuesday with the theme “Vote Where You Live, Vote Where You Learn,” will wrap up on the weekend after making stops in Atlanta, Savannah and several other Georgia cities.

The group is working to make students aware of the election and the importance of registering and voting. The tour brings the message to some high school students as well as those on college campuses.

For college students studying out of their hometown, voting where they go to school can be easier and builds their sense of community in the place they are attending school, Melinee Calhoun, a state organizer/manager for Black Voters Matter of Georgia, part of a national organization, said Wednesday.

“For four years, they are on campus,” she said. “We’re expressing that students (should) know their spaces; they’re walking their spaces during that time. We encourage them to vote where they live and learn.”

Making sure students are aware of the election and the stakes of the political contests and encouraging them to get involved is only part of the tour, Calhoun said. There also is an educational component on issues such as the U.S. Supreme Court, environmental and reproductive rights and Project 2025.

And whichever candidate wins the 2024 election could end up appointing two U.S. Supreme Court justices, which could shape the court for two generations to come.

“They are important,” she said of young voters. “They are the most diverse electorate.”

Among the local partners for the Albany stop were Fronnie Jess of the nonprofit Just Chill Community Event Center located in Camilla, who has been attending the stops at Albany State for several years.

“I’m just here to help with whatever needs to be done,” she said. “I think last time (2022) we did 700 or 800 voters. I hope this year we can double that. Our college students need to be voting. Today’s going to be a great day.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]