One could not blame voters for feeling a little shocked by the political events of this summer.
At the beginning of a July weekend, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and by the end of the following weekend, current President Joe Biden was out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris was on track to become the Democratic presidential nominee.
For Maurice Murray, who moved to Colorado from Chicago 15 years ago, his decision this fall will come down to choosing the right person for the job.
“Look after the welfare of the people and protect our Constitution. And if anyone talks about putting corporations over people, I’m here to vote against that,” Murray said.
Murray participated in the Aurora chapter of the NAACP’s “5280 Good Trouble” event at the Community College of Aurora this past weekend.
It was the start of a nationwide “Get Out the Vote” campaign designed to encourage black voters in particular to cast their ballots in the fall.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The phrase “Good Trouble” is a reference to the life and legacy of the late civil rights activist and U.S. Congressman John Lewis. Among the many nonviolent protests he participated in were the Selma to Montgomery marches to fight for voting rights for African Americans, which led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis urged Americans to “make Good Trouble” in the fight for civil rights.
“I think people already know deep down in their hearts how they’re going to vote. Our problem is we’re not voting,” said Rev. Dr. Thomas Mayes, pastor of the Living Water Christian Center, during the event in Aurora.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
According to 2022 statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 55 percent of Colorado’s black population is registered to vote, and only 28.3 percent participated in the midterm elections.
The Pew Research Center projects that the number of eligible black voters nationwide will reach 34.4 million in the November general election, a 7 percent increase from four years ago. Colorado residents make up just 5 percent of the nation’s eligible black voters.
“We need to get people to vote. I don’t care how you vote. We need to vote, and if we all vote, we’ll get the right person in office,” said Mayes, who is also a Vietnam War veteran.
The Aurora chapter of the NAACP and other local black organizations plan to hold numerous voter registration drives in the region during the November election.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Marlene Price still remembers the first time she voted. She was born in Denver but grew up outside of the state because her father was in the military. She returned for high school and college and cast her first vote in Denver.
Price, who now lives in Aurora, believes black votes are more important today after President Trump made comments saying people “wouldn’t vote again” if he were elected.
“If we don’t vote, we are not using our voice. We have no say in what happens to us,” Price said.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Price hopes that voters will not stop at their first choice either.
“The people who impact your life the most are the people on your school board, the people on your city council and of course your mayor,” she said. “Start by making sure you vote at the local level.”
Harris made history as the first black presidential candidate for a major party, making race an even more important factor in this election.
During an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, former President Trump questioned Harris’ commitment to the black community and her own ethnic identity. Harris’ father is Afro-Jamaican. Her mother is Indian. She graduated from Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, DC
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Like Harris, Price is a member of a black sorority, in her case the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. She recently saw Harris speak at the organization’s Grand Boule in Indianapolis and said it was inspiring to see someone like her being endorsed for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“If you’re a woman, if you’re a woman of color, you get inspired because what is that line? If you see it, I’m going to reach it. I don’t have to explain to her some of the things we go through because she’s been through them herself,” said Price, who is vice president of programs for her sorority’s local chapter in Aurora. “She understands that. And I’m not saying Biden or any other man doesn’t, but it helps to know that they’ve been through that experience too.”
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Black male voters – how to reach them and get them engaged – were also a topic of discussion at the launch of “Good Trouble.”
Mayes says there are many factors that contribute to fewer people from this particular demographic voting.
“You have to think about how many black men are in prison and don’t vote. How many of them are disenfranchised and don’t vote,” Mayes said. “The people in the marginalized communities… we need to put those people in a position where they understand how important it is for them to vote so we can start to think outside the box and get those black men who are thinking outside the box to vote.”
