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Feb 28, 2018 16 tweets 11 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Hi Twitter! I’m Karen Carter Peterson, the DNC Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, & I’ll be taking over @TheDemocrats Twitter today to wrap up #BlackHistoryMonth! Today I’m highlighting black activists, past and present, who embody our values. - @TeamKCP
The 4 pillars of our #IWillVote program are Commit to Vote, Register to Vote, Protect the Vote, and Get Out the Vote. While Trump and his cronies create fake commissions to investigate problems that don’t exist, these activists are on the ground doing real work. - @TeamKCP
Evelyn & Albert Turner exemplify the first of our pillars: Commit to vote. By helping people vote with their absentee ballots, they were able to elect candidates to the school board and county commission in AL. - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
Then-U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions tried to stop them. In 1985 Evelyn & Albert were falsely accused of altering absentee ballots. Sessions’ long history of racism was on full display: the case against them was weak, and they were found not guilty. - @TeamKCP
When Black voters commit to turning up on Election Day, amazing things happen. @KeishaBottoms and @LaToyaForNOLA were just elected mayors of Atlanta and New Orleans because they were able to engage our community in meaningful ways. - @TeamKCP
The next pillar of our #IWillVote program: Register to vote. Even after the 15th Amendment gave Black Americans the vote, Jim Crow laws prevented many Black people from even registering to vote for nearly 100 years. - @TeamKCP
Rev. George Washington Lee was martyred for registering voters in Mississippi in 1955. Lee had tried for years to register to vote, and, when he finally succeeded, he worked tirelessly to help others defeat barriers to the ballot box. - @TeamKCP
In October 2017, @iKaylaReed , @JessicaLBYRD , and @RukiaLumumba launched the Electoral Justice Project as part of the Movement for Black Lives with the goal of registering and mobilizing Black political power. - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
The 3 of them recently launched #wakandathevote, a nationwide voter registration drive held at movie theaters showing Black Panther. Now that’s a great example of activists meeting people where they are and creating change! - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
The third pillar: Protect the Vote. Thelton Henderson is a former Northern CA U.S. District Judge & was the first black attorney in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in the early 1960’s to investigate civil and voting rights violations by local law enforcement agencies. - @TeamKCP
.@KatCalvinLA and her organization @SpreadTheVoteUS are continuing this work today. She is a lawyer who was inspired to start Spread the Vote after seeing the devastating effects of voter ID laws. - @TeamKCP
.@SpreadtheVoteUS works to get photo IDs for people in voter ID states who can’t get them themselves. Kat: “Don't let voter suppression stop your voice from being heard. Get an ID and get to the polls." - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
Get Out the Vote is our last pillar. @desmondmeade lost his voting rights after being convicted of a felony, but now he’s fighting for fellow Floridians to get their rights back. - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
As the head of Floridians for Fair Democracy he is working to change Florida’s restoration of rights process and give the right to vote back to hundreds of thousands of people who have served their time. - @TeamKCP #IWillVote
.@desmondmeade and his volunteers have collected 1.1 million signatures to get rights restoration on the Nov. ballot, and now they are working to get out the vote. - @TeamKCP
251 days left until Election Day — I need you to get out and join me. Get registered and get your friends registered, because Black voters can make the difference in 2018: IWillVote.com #IWillVote - @TeamKCP

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More from @TheDemocrats

Jun 8, 2018
As many as 133 million Americans suffer from pre-existing conditions, and yet, Republicans think it's okay to take away their health care🤔
Here are just a few of the pre-existing conditions Americans suffer from:
✅Diabetes
✅Depression
✅Cancer
✅Asthma
✅Arthritis
Just to name a few...
Oh, and if you're a woman, here's a list of pre-existing conditions that Republicans don't want you to access affordable care for:
✅Pregnancy
✅Irregular menstruation
Read 4 tweets
May 21, 2018
Hi! I’m Karen Carter Peterson, DNC Vice Chair of Civic Engagement & Voter Participation — I’ll be taking over @TheDemocrats. Yesterday we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), & today we’re talking about how it benefits voters. -@TeamKCP
NVRA was passed by Congress in 1993 after finding that “discriminatory and unfair registration laws” in many states reduced voting by minority and low-income citizens. -@TeamKCP
The NVRA was designed to streamline the process of voter registration and create national standards for mail-in voter registration and voter list maintenance. It was a huge victory and a key step in closing the voter registration gap -@TeamKCP
Read 9 tweets
Mar 27, 2018
Hi Twitter — @Grace4NY here. I'm a DNC Vice Chair, and in the spirit of #WomensHistoryMonth, I'm taking over @TheDemocrats Twitter today to talk about why access to feminine hygiene products is an important economic justice issue. - @Grace4NY
Women deserve equal access to our economy, not punishment for their gender. That's why I've been working with my fellow women to fight for more access to tampons, pads, and the full range of menstrual products since 2015. - @Grace4NY
I've introduced legislation to make these products more affordable — because leveling the playing field and stopping period-shaming give women, especially low-income women, a better chance to succeed in our economy. - @Grace4NY bit.ly/2pzlxSS
Read 6 tweets
Dec 13, 2017
Hello, Twitter! Congresswoman Terri Sewell here. I'll be taking over tweet duty for @TheDemocrats over the next little bit for some real talk on last night's big #ALSen win and the power of the #blackwomen vote! - @Sewell4Congress
I knew that black women could change the world long before the incredible headlines we're seeing today. My mom, a high school librarian with a master’s degree, became the first African-American woman elected to Selma’s City Council and served 11 years. - @Sewell4Congress
Decades later I sought office for the U.S. House and became the first black woman to ever serve in Alabama's Congressional delegation where I presently represent Selma, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and more. - @Sewell4Congress
Read 10 tweets

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