NAACP leaders, college students, and volunteers gathered in Detroit Monday for some phone banking one on the eve of Election Day. The group is trying to turn out younger voters in Southeast Michigan by reminding them what’s at stake in this election.
NAACP National Mobilization Director Amari Fennoy said the economy has been one of the top concerns of voters this election. She wants people to understand their vote can affect that.
“We understand that Michigan voters are tired, they’re exhausted. We’ve seen the videos, people saying we need change currently,” Fennoy said.
“This is the purpose of these conversations. It’s for us to make those calls to those individuals for that last little touch to make sure people are getting out to vote," she said.
Fennoy said they reached out to Black voters ages 18-25 in Wayne and Macomb counties. The conversations focused on making sure people had a plan to get to the polls and helping them create one if they didn’t already.
Wayne State University senior A’naya Jones is a vice president of the Michigan NAACP's Youth and College Division. Jones said she’s been explaining to other young people that politics isn’t as boring as it may seem.
“If you’re really involved, and you want to get involved, it doesn’t become boring,” Jones said before encouraging people to think about how elections can affect their own lives and goals. “Let’s say I want to be a nurse, and I want to help the people in my community, how can I do that outside of my job? I can go out and vote so I can make sure they’re able to afford healthcare.”
The presence of NAACP national leadership demonstrates the importance of Michigan this election cycle. The state’s open U.S Senate seat could help decide the balance of power in the chamber.
Throughout that race and others, campaigns on both sides of the aisle have factored Black voters into their election math. Political ads targeting the Black community illustrate that.
Those commercials have often prominently featured Black people, accusations about candidates’ relationships with the Black community, and a reference or two to former President Barack Obama’s family.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said Michigan’s political climate has gotten bad.
“It has been the most divisive campaign cycle that I have seen across the country. Using people’s ethnic and religious differences to pull people apart. That is not the society that we want to grow and become,” Johnson said.
Johnson said many Black families came to the north from southern states decades ago to escape the type of division Michigan is seeing right now.
