Heading into the 2024 elections, The Global Black Economic Forum and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will focus on voter education, election protection, and voter participation

‍

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‍

New York, NY — The Global Black Economic Forum (“GBEF”) announced a partnership with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (“the Lawyers' Committee”) to protect voting rights and encourage civic engagement in the Black community. The collaboration will focus on recruiting, training, and mobilizing GBEF’s core audience as non-partisan Election Protection Field Volunteers during the 2024 presidential election cycle.

‍

The Lawyers’ Committee is the convener of the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition and is home to the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which voters can call to ask trained Attorney Volunteers questions about voting (e.g., polling location, vote-by-mail procedures) or to report problems (e.g., voter intimidation, harassment, or disinformation).  As a complement to the hotline, the coalition also recruits Field Volunteers who are deployed to polling precincts nationwide to assist voters who experience problems at the polls in real-time.

‍

GBEF and the Lawyers' Committee will recruit volunteers to join the existing nationwide Election Protection infrastructure for training and deployment. The initiative will be featured during the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture taking place in  New Orleans, LA over the Fourth of July Weekend. Both organizations will prioritize keeping volunteers engaged throughout the election season by amplifying the key contributions Black people, and especially Black women, have made to protecting democracy. 

‍

“Unfortunately, we live in a nation where there are relentless and coordinated attacks against one of the most basic civil rights — the right to vote — and we cannot sit idle as it gets eroded.  We enter into this partnership with the resilient and respected Lawyers' Committee to raise awareness, empower people and defend the fundamental right to vote,” said Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. “We’ve worked too hard to earn and protect this right, generation after generation, to turn back now.”

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and one of the most important keys to unlocking power within Black communities, said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Lawyers’ Committee has been at the forefront, defending our rights against numerous threats, from the courtroom to the halls of political power. As we partner with the Global Black Economic Forum, our goal is to supercharge these efforts by recruiting and training thousands of Election Protection volunteers. We must ensure that Black voices are heard loud and clear and that Black votes count in the electoral process.”

‍

The Lawyers’ Committee convenes the national Election Protection (“EP”) coalition, the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection effort, boasting over 300 organizations as coalition members nationwide. Throughout election cycles, Election Protection volunteers provide voters with critical information, document problems voters experience when voting, and work with partners to remove barriers to the ballot.

‍

About The Global Black Economic Forum 

‍

The Global Black Economic Forum is an international enterprise focused on advancing the economic interests of the Black Diaspora and other marginalized groups through global summits, workplace training and leadership development, policy advocacy, and thought leadership. 

‍

About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://www.lawyerscommittee.org