TOUGALOO, MS – Tougaloo College has joined The Collective, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to supporting causes that impact the Black community politically and through civic engagement efforts and HBCU leadership organization Xceleader for the #VoteHBCU voter registration competition.
HBCU’s and their alumni associations have been assigned a unique code through The Collective’s voter registration tool, powered by Rock The Vote, to register voters from their schools. The competition, which began Friday, August 21 and ends October 7, is part of a nationwide effort with HBCU’s to register and mobilize Black voters. The school with the highest percentage of registered voters will be revealed at an upcoming virtual event.
“The Tougaloo College student body is honored to be a part of such an important effort to be sure that our voices are heard in local, state and national elections. We as young leaders have the power to create change, and we are excited to join the #VoteHBCU Challenge to register our campus community to vote,” said A’mon Haynes, SGA President.
All 2020-2021 Student Government Association Leaders from America’s HBCUs and their National Alumni Associations are invited to participate in the competition, which is a part of The Collective’s Vote To Live campaign, which has a goal of registering 250,000 voters before the November election.
“Every election determines the direction we go in as a country - on the local, state and federal level - and this one is definitely critical,” said Stefanie Brown James, Co-Founder of The Collective and an HBCU graduate. “That is exactly why this year, we are laser focused on registering and mobilizing as many Black voters as we can to elect people who will aggressively address the needs of the Black community.”
“The country is facing a national reckoning,” said Jade Agudosi, Co-Founder of Xceleader. “We have seen protests in the streets for police reform and people dying unnecessarily from inadequate access to health care. Issues that directly impact the Black community are on the ballot and we need the HBCU community to help register new voters who will show up to the polls and vote for a better future”.
Tougaloo College President Dr. Carmen J. Walters said, "Tougaloo College has continually sought to enhance the education of its students and to promote social responsibility to fight against discriminatory practices that hinder civil and human rights. More than fifty years ago, Mississippi was a battleground where civil rights workers lost their lives fighting to register African Americans to vote. Today, at Tougaloo, we recognize the significance of our students needing to vote. We instill in them that voting is not a racial entitlement—it is a democratic right. We encourage our students to exercise their political power by voting to change and reshape policies that impact their lives and the lives of others, particularly historically underrepresented groups, so we all can be seated at the table of access and opportunity.”
ABOUT TOUGALOO COLLEGE
Tougaloo College is a private, independent, liberal arts institution, offering undergraduate
degrees in twenty-nine majors in the areas of education, the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, and graduate degrees in education. Since its founding in 1869, the College has maintained a rich tradition of excellence, relevance, and influence, creating a legacy of distinction in higher education.
ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE
The Collective is working to create an America where Black people are equally represented at every level of government. Today, 90% of all elected officials are white and 95% of all elected prosecutors are white. The Collective is strategically focused on creating a truly equitable democracy where our nation’s local, state and federal governments have diverse and talented elected leadership and Black people are fully represented in positions of power to create the policies necessary to progress our communities forward.
ABOUT XCELEADER
Xceleader is a leadership network that cultivates the next generation of student government leadership at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). Learn more about the organization at xceleader.com.
