Politics in this country can no longer be considered normal. It is no longer
the extremes that conjure up conspiracies about election outcomes. It’s
mainstream, and a significant portion of our country’s population would
rather deal in lies than accept that it’s time for America to deal with her sins
that have created inequities. We are obligated to acknowledge the failures of
traditional programs that do nothing to usurp white supremacy and instead
breed stagnation and act as a form of voter suppression, especially for those
of us who live on the margins.
The world of organizations [donors and practitioners alike] concerned with
Black men’s electoral participation can no longer leave civic engagement to
the Parties that would instead maintain the status quo, and we must accept
our reality. And that reality is that we must commit to finding year-round
work that is sustainable and culturally compatible with the lived experiences
of Black men. This can only, with all honesty, be described as the work of
Black Male Voter Project, as we have a track record of being spot-on with the
issues that we must address in all eorts to get more Black men to the voting
booth. If we are serious about the progress that situates Black men in a more
equitable position, then a reworking of what’s our day-to-day and how it’s
funded.
2024, as it pertains to the federal election, doesn’t begin next January. It has
already started, and we are so far behind the work required to prepare this
demographic for the nastiest election in modern history.
Your entire involvement with electoral work should be questioned and
reexamined. We have seen more than 47% of Black men eligible to vote in this
country sit out five consecutive federal elections; our work is THE case study
to correct this error that exists in our current civic engagement work.
We hope you are willing to join us on this path to move civic engagement
from the transactional to the transformative.
W. Mondale Robinson
FOUNDER
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