Community Organizations In Cleveland Rally To Increase Black Male Voter Turnout For November

The event brought together 300 Black men with the shared goal of getting other Black men out to the polls this November.

Several community organizations in Cleveland have come together to increase the voter turnout among Black men for the 2024 election.

Members of 100 Black Men of Cleveland, Prince Hall Masons, and local Divine Nine fraternity chapters joined forces with several other community organizations on Aug. 27 for a nonpartisan event designed to mobilize voter engagement among Black men in Northeast Ohio, WKYC reported.

The event brought together 300 Black men with the shared goal of getting other Black men out to the polls this November.

“It’s wrong to steal the ballot from Black men. It’s wrong to lie to Black men who have been lied to this country ever since we have been here, it is wrong to continue to incarcerate Black men at a rate faster than anyone in the world,” Pastor C. Jay Matthews with United Pastors said.

The nonpartisan event comes ahead of a planned canvassing day where the men will go door-to-door throughout Cleveland.

“Black men, get in the game. This is a call to action for all Black men in our community to get involved in voter engagement this coming election season,” Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said.

Local churches have already mobilized their congregations to get an early start on voting this November.

“We have already launched our 100 churches to have 100 people vote by early mail before the election starts,” Matthews said.

Organizers are confident that they can get “1,000 brothers on the ground,” according to Aaron Phillips with Cleveland Clergy Coalition. The message they want to get out is clear: Get registered to vote and know that numbers do matter.

“When you have a thousand men coming together to help get out the votes in our neighborhood, particularly men of color out working the streets to get our kids engaged, get seniors re-engaged, there is something special out there that is happening,” Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.