NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK, CONFERENCE OF NATIONAL BLACK CHURCHES ANNOUNCE JOINT GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTIONS

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Dec 15, 2023

Nonpartisan Effort to Begin in January, Highlight Key Issues Impacting Black Americans Amid Historic Threat to Civil Rights, Affirmative Action, and Health Equity

Orlando, FL (December 14, 2023) – The National Action Network (NAN) and the Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC) today announced a new joint Get Out the Vote Campaign ahead of the 2024 elections that will focus on the key issues before Black Americans. The effort is a response to the concerted, ongoing effort to undermine the power of the Black vote in dozens of states, as courts simultaneously continue to chip away at affirmative action, healthcare access, and other hard-won civil rights.

“The Black Church was the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in the effort to unlock the vote for Black southerners,” said Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC) and National Action Network (NAN). “We again find ourselves in a season of duress, from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the attacks on equity in education, jobs, and the vote. CNBC stands as a single unit for the six largest predominantly Black denominations of Christianity, in partnership with the activism and advocacy of NAN, to ensure our voice is heard at the polls.”

“Black Americans’ civil rights are under attack at this very moment – that isn’t a warning, it’s simply the state of current affairs,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN). “We need to ensure Black Americans know this election season is about more than one person over the other. It’s about the ability of our grandchildren and their grandchildren to go to the best schools, get the best jobs, and see the best doctors. NAN and CNBC are ready to hit the ground running in January to ensure this election is a referendum on the future of equality for this nation.”

Rev. Sharpton announced the new, nonpartisan campaign Wednesday night at CNBC’s Annual Consultation in Orlando. During his keynote address at the organization’s Leadership Recognition Dinner, the civil rights leader stressed that elections influence everything from local zoning to national health policies. The campaign will begin in January with training sessions for clergy, chapter leaders, and youth organizers to help get out the vote.

Voting rights have continued to be in flux since the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At least 29 states have since enacted nearly 100 new laws in the decade since to make voting more restrictive, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. An analysis of these laws found many were racially discriminative.

About National Action Network (NAN)

National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender.

For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.

About The Conference of National Black Churches:

The Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC) is the premiere public policy and social justice expression of the Black ecclesiastical denominations comprising CNBC in America. CNBC is comprised of the national leadership of the largest historically Black denominations in America: The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ), Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME), Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC), National Baptist Convention of America USA, Inc (NBCUSA) and the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC); representing more than 80% of African American Christians across this nation with a combined membership of over 25 million people and 31,000 congregations.