FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Tenley-Ann Hawkins for The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc.
(914) 841-9717 thawks812@msn.com
I MATTER, I VOTE:
THE BLACK WOMEN’S AGENDA, INC. HOSTS VIRTUAL VOTING RIGHTS
TOWN HALL DURING ITS 43rd ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
The Color of Change’s Heather McGhee; Rev. Dr. William Barber II; Anthropologist, Educator, and National Council of Negro Women Chair Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole; Princeton Educator, Author, and Commentator Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., and Political Strategist and Social Impact Advisor Aisha C. Mills discuss Protecting and Mobilizing African-American Voters
WASHINGTON, DC – Friday, September 18, 2020 – The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. (BWA) went on the offensive today, hosting a virtual town hall devoted to protecting and securing the voting rights of African Americans and other people of color during its 43rd Annual Symposium. Moderated by Heather McGhee, Board Chair, The Color of Change, a panel of prominent political activists and observers – including Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President, Repairers of the Breach and Co-chair, Poor People’s Campaign; Dr. Johnetta B. Cole, anthropologist, educator and Board Chair of The National Council of Negro Women, Inc.; Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., an esteemed author, commentator and Chairman of Princeton University’s Department of African-American Studies, and Aisha C. Mills, a nationally renowned political strategist and social impact advisor – discussed strategies for combatting voter suppression, registering and engaging African-American voters, and ensuring that they have the opportunity to make their voices heard.
BWA’s Annual Symposium Workshop & Awards Luncheon traditionally draws nearly two thousand attendees, including elected officials, journalists, corporate and community leaders. Many of those supporters participated in today’s town hall, along with members of BWA’s 24 national collaborating organizations – sororities, civic, service, and faith-based – representing millions of women worldwide. BWA is actively supporting voter registration, education, and mobilization drives its National Collaborating Organizations are leading in cities and towns across the country. It is also partnering with Common Cause, a 50-year-old network of democracy experts and supporters dedicated to modernizing elections and making them more fair, secure, and accessible.
“Misinformation, disinformation, call it what you like. In the small town in Georgia where I grew up, a lie is a lie,” insisted BWA President Gwainevere Catchings Hess. “African Americans have an extraordinary opportunity to impact this election, but we have to be smart about the attempts to manipulate us. We can’t let people tell us our vote doesn’t matter, because more than ever it does. A wise woman once shared, ‘Voting is not only our right; it is our power.’ On November 3, we vow to be powerful.”
Founded in 1977 in Washington, DC, The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that generates awareness and support for issues that secure, protect, and advance the rights of Black women and their families. Through the establishment of a social priorities agenda, BWA facilitates discussions that lead to effective policies and meaningful change. For additional information about BWA, please visit www.bwa-inc.org.
OTHER NEWS
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month
According to the American Diabetes Association, “1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes and 40,000 people will be diagnosed with it this year. Type 1 diabetes occurs at every age, in people of every race, and of every shape and size.
In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. The body breaks down the carbohydrates you eat into blood sugar that it uses for energy—and insulin is a hormone that the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, everyone can learn to manage their condition and live long healthy lives.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes—and it means that your body doesn’t use insulin properly. And while some people can control their blood sugar levels with healthy eating and exercise, others may need medication or insulin to help manage it.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
Founded in 1977, The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. is a national organization with a mission of educating and protecting the rights of African American women and their families, and represents more than 3 million women.
This Open Letter is being sent in support of women throughout the United States and the World. We understand the importance of recognizing the “person-hood” of women and their complete dominion over their bodies, including matters of pregnancy and reproductive health.
The Spirit of Change Town Hall
On Saturday, May 18, 2019, The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. (BWA) hosted faith leaders, activists, elected officials, journalists, and a multicultural audience from across the political spectrum today for Spirit of Change, a frank and expansive town hall conversation, moderated by ABC News Anchor and Correspondent T.J. Holmes, on some of the nation’s most pressing issues, at Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital.
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