Black Voters Matter working to "get out the vote" in Pensacola for primary election

Kevin Robinson | Pensacola News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Black Voters Matter stops in Pensacola ahead of primary elections Members of Black Voters Matter spent Monday morning in Pensacola trying to increase turnout for Tuesday’s primary election.

Cliff Albright laughed a little when asked if this election cycle was going to be particularly meaningful or historic.

He said every election is billed as the most important election of all time, at least until the next one rolls around.

But — noting our nation's current racial tension, immigration debate and allegations the U.S. president has emboldened white supremacists — Albright conceded that yes, this election is a big one.

On the Monday before the 2018 primaries, representatives of the organization Black Voters Matter spent the morning visiting predominantly black apartment complexes and community centers in Pensacola.

Jerry McIntosh, president of the local organization Movement for Change, said the purpose of the tour was to remind black voters that they had the power to influence elections, and they had the right to demand that their elected officials represent them well and address their needs.

"We know our votes do matter, and not only does our vote matter, we matter," McIntosh said.

Albright, who co-founded Black Voters Matter with LaTosha Brown, has spent the past six months convening community meetings throughout the South to discuss community needs and their visions for progress. The group has spent time in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee and credits itself with mobilizing enough black voters to help give Democrat Doug Jones a narrow victory in a tightly contested Alabama special election last year.

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Black Votes Matter has a stated mission to "increase power in marginalized, predominantly black communities." For about two hours, the organization wheeled around town in a campaign tour bus making stops at Pensacola Village Apartments, the Fricker Center and the Gonzales Court Apartments and other places most mainstream candidates don't normally visit.

There are almost 41,000 black voters registered in Escambia County, comprising about 20 percent of the region's electorate, according to data from the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections.

The participants in the bus tour noted that while officials often court black voters before elections, they don't typically follow up on the voters' needs after the election.

And Rev. H.K. Matthews, who spent his life advocating for political change and equal civil rights for all people, said he wanted to be sure people didn't squander the rights for which others had fought and died.

"Bad officials are elected by good folks who don't vote. If we sit home on election day and say 'my vote doesn't count,' you are exactly right, your vote does not count because you are sitting at home," Matthews said.



