BlackVoter.Org

Black Dem Official to Voters: Wake Up, El-Sayed Doesnt Have Our Back

Let's talk about something that's been simmering in Michigan politics — and it's a conversation we need to have nationwide. State Rep. Karen Whitsett is calling out Abdul El-Sayed and Democratic Party leadership, saying plainly what many of us have felt for years: Black voters are too often taken for granted, courted during election season and forgotten the rest of the time. Whitsett didn't hold back, pointing to El-Sayed's connections to controversial streamer Hasan Piker as part of a larger pattern — party insiders elevating figures who don't reflect our priorities, our history, or our lived experience, while expecting our loyalty at the ballot box regardless. This isn't just political drama. It's about representation and accountability. Our vote is not owed to anyone. It's earned through real investment in our communities, our schools, our economic opportunities, and our safety. When leaders assume our support without doing that work, they disrespect a legacy built on marches, sit-ins, and generations of sacrifice just to have a voice in this democracy. So here's our call to action: pay attention to who's actually showing up for us, not just who's asking for our votes. Ask your local representatives hard questions. Show up to town halls. Research candidates' records, not just their rhetoric. Our ancestors fought too hard for us to hand out political loyalty for free. Register if you haven't. Vote in every election, not just the big ones. And hold every leader — Democrat, Republican, or independent — accountable to us. That's how we turn being "taken for granted" into being impossible to ignore.

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Court Blocks Trump's Power Grab Against a Black Congressman We Fight On

Let's talk about what just happened in Missouri, because it matters for all of us. The state's Supreme Court dealt a real blow to Trump's plan to help Republicans hold onto Congress by any means necessary — including rewriting the rules mid-game. The court's ruling throws a wrench into efforts to manipulate district lines in ways that would dilute our voting power and silence Black communities across the state. This isn't just a Missouri story. It's part of a bigger pattern we've seen before: when political power feels threatened, some leaders reach for maps instead of policies, hoping to lock in outcomes before voters even show up. That's why this ruling is a win worth celebrating — but also a reminder that the fight for fair representation never really ends. Here's the truth our ancestors knew and fought for: political power follows the district lines, and district lines follow who's paying attention. Gerrymandering isn't abstract — it decides who represents you, who funds your schools, who shows up when your community needs help. So here's what we do. Stay informed on redistricting fights in your state, not just Missouri's. Show up to local commission meetings when maps are being drawn. Register to vote if you haven't, and check your registration status today. Hold your state legislators accountable — call them, email them, ask where they stand. This is our legacy to protect and our future to shape. Don't sit this one out.

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Don't Just React to AI—Shape It: Our Community's Next Move

Let's talk about power — the kind we build, not just the kind we react to. At a recent Sister Spokesman event in North Minneapolis, tech leaders and everyday residents came together to ask a question that matters for all of us: how do Black communities move from playing catch-up with artificial intelligence to actually shaping where it goes? This isn't just a tech conversation. It's a civic one. AI is already influencing who gets hired, who gets loans, who gets flagged by algorithms in policing and healthcare. History has taught us what happens when Black communities are left out of the rooms where decisions get made — we inherit systems built without us, then spend generations fighting to fix them. We've done that dance before. We don't have to do it again. The folks at Sister Spokesman are pushing for something different: get in early, ask hard questions, and demand a seat at the table before the technology is fully baked. That means supporting Black tech entrepreneurs, pushing local leaders to include community voices in AI policy decisions, and holding institutions accountable when algorithms cause harm. Here's your call to action: show up to community tech forums when they happen. Ask your local officials what safeguards exist around AI use in your city — in policing, hiring, housing. Support Black-owned tech ventures and educational programs building AI literacy in our neighborhoods. Our legacy has always been about turning up where we're told we don't belong and changing the outcome. This is no different. Let's shape this era, not just survive it.

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Smithsonian Chief Steps Down as Trump Tightens Grip on Our History

The Smithsonian Institution — home to our nation's memory, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture — just lost its top leader. Secretary Lonnie Bunch, the very man who built that museum from the ground up, is stepping down as former President Trump moves to tighten his grip on the institution's leadership and direction. Let's be clear: this isn't just inside-baseball bureaucracy. The Smithsonian holds our stories — the Green Book, Emmett Till's casket, Harriet Tubman's shawl. When political forces start reshaping who runs these institutions, they're reshaping who controls the narrative of Black history in America. We've seen this playbook before: sanitize the past, control the present, limit the future. Bunch's departure comes amid broader efforts to influence how federal cultural institutions operate, raising real concerns about whether the truth of our history stays intact or gets quietly edited. Here's what we do: we watch closely, we speak up, and we hold decision-makers accountable. Contact your congressional representatives and demand transparency in how Smithsonian leadership is selected moving forward. Support organizations and museums preserving Black history independently. And most importantly, don't let this news fade into the background — talk about it, share it, make noise. Our ancestors fought too hard for our stories to be told for us to stay silent now. Register to vote, show up to town halls, and demand that the people entrusted with preserving American history — all of it — actually do their jobs. Legacy isn't just remembered. It's protected. Let's protect it together.

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Jamaica Presses King Charles on Reparations Its Our Legacy Too

Jamaica is putting the British Crown on notice, and we should be watching closely. This week, the Jamaican government formally petitioned King Charles to seek legal advice on whether Britain owes reparations for centuries of slavery that built empires on the backs of our ancestors. Culture Minister Olivia Grange, leading the delegation in London, says she's "encouraged" by Buckingham Palace's engagement so far. That's not nothing — but let's be clear, encouragement isn't accountability. This moment matters far beyond Jamaica's shores. It's part of a growing global reckoning with the wealth extracted through slavery and colonialism, wealth that never made its way back to the descendants of those who suffered under it. From the Caribbean to the United States, the reparations conversation keeps gaining momentum because the harm never stopped compounding. Broken families, stolen labor, generational poverty — these aren't relics of the past. They're blueprints for the racial wealth gap we live with today. Here's why this is our fight too. Reparations movements across the diaspora are connected. What happens in Jamaica sends ripples to California, to Georgia, to every state-level reparations task force fighting for recognition here at home. Legacy and accountability go hand in hand — and both require us to stay engaged, informed, and loud. So don't just watch from the sidelines. Follow this story. Support reparations advocacy in your own community. Register to vote, show up to local hearings, and push your elected officials on where they stand. History is being written right now — make sure our voices are part of it.

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NAACP blasts auditor's call for governance change at St. Louis Public Schools

Here's a story we need to be watching closely, family. In St. Louis, a fight over local governance is unfolding that echoes a pattern many of us know all too well: efforts to reshape power structures in ways that dilute Black political influence. Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis NAACP, is speaking out against a state auditor's push for a new governance structure — one Pruitt says is biased against a majority-Black district. This isn't just bureaucratic reshuffling. When outside officials start redesigning how local communities are governed, especially Black communities that have fought hard for representation, we have to ask: who benefits, and who loses a voice at the table? History has taught us that governance changes — redistricting, board restructuring, oversight boards — can be tools for genuine reform or quiet mechanisms for disenfranchisement. Pruitt's pushback is a reminder that vigilance matters. Civil rights leaders didn't march so that decades later, our communities' self-determination could be quietly stripped away through technical policy shifts. So here's what we do. Stay informed on what's happening in your local governance structures, not just at election time. Show up to public meetings. Ask your local officials where they stand on this issue and others like it. Support organizations like the NAACP doing the watchdog work on the ground. And most importantly, vote in every election, especially the local ones that decide who controls these very governance decisions. Representation isn't given, it's protected. Let's keep protecting it, together.

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Fashion Week Owes Us: Remember Who Built the Runway

Back in 1969, when Bryant Park was still finding its footing as a cultural hub, Ophelia DeVore was already there, staging what The Amsterdam News called “fashion extravaganzas.” That’s right—decades before Fashion Week became a global spectacle, a Black woman was setting the runway standard in the heart of New York City. DeVore wasn’t just showcasing clothes; she was showcasing possibility. As the founder of one of the first Black modeling agencies in America, she opened doors for Black models, Black beauty, and Black excellence at a time when the industry barely acknowledged our existence. This is our history, family. Ophelia DeVore didn’t wait for permission—she built her own runway, literally and figuratively, and she did it in public, unapologetically, in a city that didn’t always make space for us. That legacy matters because representation isn’t new to us. We’ve been carving out our place at every table, on every stage, in every industry, long before anyone else recognized our worth. So here’s where we come in. Legacy only lives on if we protect it. That means showing up—at the ballot box, in city council meetings, in school board elections—the same way DeVore showed up on that runway in 1969. Representation in fashion, in politics, in leadership—it’s all connected. Register to vote. Check your polling location. Show up for local elections, not just presidential ones. Hold your leaders accountable the way DeVore held an industry accountable to include us. Our history is our blueprint. Let’s keep building.

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Here's what we're not going to do: scroll past this and do nothing.

Every story in this issue points to the same truth — power respects organization, not sympathy. From St. Louis school boards to Smithsonian leadership to a courtroom fight over a Black congressman's seat, the decisions shaping our communities are being made right now, by people who answer to voters. That's us.

So take five minutes today. Check your voter registration status — don't assume it's fine, confirm it. If you've moved, update your address. If you're not registered, fix that before you close this email.

Then go further:

→ Call or email your local school board about the St. Louis situation and demand transparency on any governance changes.
→ Show up to a city council or school board meeting this month. Accountability starts local.
→ Talk to three people in your circle about registering or checking their status. Legacy isn't passed down — it's built, person by person.

Our ancestors marched, sued, and died for the ballot. The least we owe them is showing up to use it. Register. Verify. Vote. Hold your leaders accountable — every single one, at every level.

We'll keep bringing you the news. You keep showing up.