BET, National Urban League and Key Impact
Partners, Including National Action Network, NAACP, NAACP Legal
Defense Fund, Color of Change, Higher Heights, When We All Vote,
Black Voters Matter, The Collective Pac, Lawyers’ Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law, Election Protection, the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Black Economic
Alliance Set National Day to Galvanize Black Voters
In partnership with the National Urban League and other key
civil rights organizations, BET has announced the next phase of its
#ReclaimYourVote campaign, which declares the first-ever National
Black Voter Day to be recognized on September 18, 2020. The
announcement comes 100 days out from Election Day and aims to
energize and galvanize Black voters nationwide to take collective
action toward civic engagement. The date coincides with the
country’s first early voting day, in South Dakota and Minnesota –
the latter being ground zero of the fight for racial justice since
the killing of George Floyd.
“With 100 days until Election Day—it is critical for BET to
utilize all of our resources and partnerships to drive Black civic
engagement across the country, and the National Black Voter Day is
a key part of this effort,” said Scott Mills, President,
BET. “We will use the momentum of the fight against systemic
racism to galvanize those marching in protest to march to the polls
in November.”
“We have witnessed attempts to exclude Black Americans from the
voting process through the purging of registration rolls,
restrictive voter ID laws and other forms of voter suppression – a
legacy of Jim Crow,” added Jeanine Liburd, Chief Social Impact
& Communications Officer. “We are thrilled to be partnering
with the National Urban League and an incredible group of impact
partners to declare September 18 National Black Voter Day to
energize our audience to reclaim their vote during this upcoming
election and beyond.”
In addition to the National Urban League, key impact partners
signed on, including the National Action Network, NAACP, When We
All Vote, Black Voters Matter, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The
Collective PAC, Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law,
Election Protection, The Leadership Conference On Civil And Human
Rights and The Black Economic Alliance. This list is in
formation.
“The pandemic and racial justice protests have shone a bright
light on the stark racial disparities that exist in health care,
the economy and our criminal justice system,” National Urban
League President Marc H. Morial said. “If we are to repair
these gaps, we must commit ourselves to making sure every Black
American has the tools they need to register and cast an informed
vote, whether by mail or in-person, early or on Election Day.”
"It has become clear that voter suppression is an integral part
of the electoral strategy of some partisan political groups—there’s
no end in sight to their ruthless disenfranchisement tactics,”
added Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and President of National Action
Network (NAN). “We must not allow these efforts to prevent us
from exercising our Constitutional right to vote. 2016 proved in
the most dangerous ways that elections have consequences, which is
why 2020 is shaping up to be the most important election of our
lifetime. I, along with the National Action Network, wholeheartedly
stand with BET's voter registration efforts through National Black
Voter Day. The last few months have shown us that we are literally
fighting for our lives."
Demystifying the process of voting for Black citizens in a
COVID-19 world, #ReclaimYourVote will break down the necessary
steps to make our voices heard. From securing and checking your
voter registration to making a plan for how to vote and what to
vote for to gathering your friends and family to vote with you,
#ReclaimYourVote is committed to ensuring every step of the process
is clear and accessible for Black voters.
#ReclaimYourVote launched earlier this year to identify
significant electoral issues, demystify confusing civic processes,
share ways to remain protected while voting in a COVID-19
environment, and highlight specific opportunities for Black
Americans to reclaim our collective power through civic engagement.
To date, #ReclaimYourVote has
leveraged activations, talent, civil rights partnerships and
television spots to urge the Black community to be counted in the
census and to take a stand and vote.
In the days leading up to National Black Voter Day, BET and its
impact partners will launch a array of initiatives and provide
content to inform, empower and mobilize Black Americans’
participation in the November elections. The resources will ensure
voters have access to voter registration information, provide
guidance on voting rights restoration for eligible voters and
engage the candidates on the issues that matter most within our
community.
For more information, please visit www.BET.com.
Join the conversation on social media by logging on to BET’s
multiple social media platforms and using the hashtags:
#ReclaimYourVote and #BETVote and following us @BET,
@BETVote, and @BETNews.
About BET
BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is
the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news
and public affairs television programming for the African American
audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and
can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United
Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant
African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business
extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for
Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour
entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET
Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home
Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET
Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for
wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around
the globe.
About The National Urban
League
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights
organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate
the standard of living in historically underserved urban
communities. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of
its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public
policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact
and improve the lives of more than 2 million people annually
nationwide. Visit https://nul.org/ and follow us on Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200726005021/en/
BET Mia Scott-Aime 917.769.4689 mia.scott@bet.net National Urban
League Teresa Candori tcandori@nul.org
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIACA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIACA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024