Black Man March Aims To Get More Black Men Registered and Ready To Vote

The Georgia NAACP, several grassroots organizations, and the Fulton County Commissioners for District 6 organized the Black Man March to get Black men more active in voting.

The Atlanta Voice reports that the Black Man March was held Saturday, October 1 in Downtown Atlanta to rally Black men to get registered and informed on the record number of Black candidates running for office in the Peach State and across the U.S. in the midterm elections.

“This is a march, it is not a parade,” L.A. Pink, the President of Street Groomers, a group of Black men that patrol high crime neighborhoods, escort children to and from school, and much more, told The Atlanta Voice. “We want to display the power and the change when we step into the streets.”

According to the Georgia Secretary of State, there are seven million active voters in the Peach State as of last December and, among them, 2 million are Black. With big issues such as healthcare disparities, environmental racism, and police accountability becoming more important every day, it’s paramount and necessary that Black men continue to be involved in the political process.

The Black Man March began at the corner of Ralph David Abernathy and Hank Aaron Drive, and the Fred Hampton Gun Club (FHGC) provided security for the march

“We are looking to take this march from state to state,” Brother Stone, co-founder of the Street Groomers, said. “These politicians want to ask for your vote and then once they get in office they stick to party lines. If we can stretch this message we can do a lot to change things.”

Black candidates in Georgia this fall include Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams, current Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), former NFL running back Herschel Walker and more. Across the U.S., other Black candidates include Val Demings (D-FL), Mandela Barnes (D-WI) and Cheri Beasley (D-N.C.).

Abrams believes if Black men turn out and vote for her, she can defeat current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

“If Black men turn out in the numbers and support me at the levels they’re capable of, I can win this election, because we know Black men sometimes punch below their weight class,” Abrams said according to WABE. “They’ve got reasons to be distrustful, and they’ve got reasons to be disconnected. And it is not only disingenuous, it would be bad practice for me to not do the work to show that I understand.”

Many of the Black candidates face significant challenges in their races, which makes it all the more important that Black men and women turn out in the midterm elections. Typically, the party that is not in the White House gains an advantage in the Midterm Elections, meaning Republicans are likely to be the favorite come November.