October 31, 2024 • 19 mins
Host Ramses J and cohost Q Ward continue their series profiling the distinguished ladies of the National Council of Negro Women. Today's guest is Ms. Portia Reddick White, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy for NCNW.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to our special series Distinguished Ladies of the NCNW
here on the Black Information Network. Recently, myself, ramses Jah
and q Ward made our way to Baltimore for the
sixty first Annual Convention of the National Council of Negro Women,
and we're able to have some meaningful conversations with some
of the most powerful and influential Black women in America.
(00:20):
We discuss politics, education, healthcare, economics, and everything in between.
So sit back and enjoy today's episode of the Distinguished
Ladies of the NCNW here on the Black Information Network. Okay,
checking back in with you from the NCNW National Convention
here in Baltimore, the Year of Our Lord, twenty twenty four.
(00:44):
Enjoying every minute of our time on the ground here,
being surrounded by all of this black excellence, a lot
of Black girl magic in the room, a lot of
feminine powerful energy in the room. And you know, we've
(01:06):
been able to meet and shake hands with so many
people who are such an inspiration. And our next guest
is perhaps the most impressive so far, not just because
of your presence, but also you know, you're here to
talk to us about something that's incredibly meaningful, and we
think a lot of people need to know about what
(01:29):
you've accomplished and what is being accomplished as we speak.
Our guest is Portia White. She is the vice president
of Advocacy and Policy for the National Council of Negro Women.
And it's just an honor to have you.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
On the show.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Welcome, thank you, thank you so much. So glad to
be here and share a little bit about what we're doing. Yeah,
and how we're shaking knocking around the country.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, now, because I've been champing at the bid, talk
to us a bit about the eighth state all state
push that we've been hearing about.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yes, so we have an eighth state all state strategy strategy,
and it is that strategy to make sure that we're
covering the base of our sections who we know are
in very strategic places, I will say it that way,
and those states are Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan,
(02:36):
and best of all, I guess, Pennsylvania. So we have
a strategy where we have built a whole corehort of
members and affiliates too to work with us to do
got efforts from start to finish. So we have been
doing this for a bit. We've been doing this for
(02:58):
a while. We're moving goot efforts, GOTV, get out the vote,
gotcha okay efforts, GOOTV got it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And we started with, of course registering people to vote.
We have registered up to this point one hundred and
thirty thousand people. Talk to them, and we are elevating
that as we move on, and I know that time
is getting close to an end when most people will
be able to register.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
But as as far as.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
We can keep moving it, we're gonna keep building it.
We're gonna keep building that number, driving that number up. Frankly,
it was one thirty, one hundred and thirty k about
a week and a half ago. I assume that number
is definitely grown. So I'm excited so.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
For our listeners who are in those eight states who
want to galvanize this energy in this momentum that we
have into actionable steps. If I'm listening to this message,
how can I be involved with amplifying the message that
you just shared with us.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Well, we do have state Let me just tell you
a little bit about the way that we've actually structured
it least, so we have state managers, We have site leads.
So with any of these states that I've mentioned, we
have site leads who will help to in their various
communities connect to all the various affiliates that we have.
(04:23):
We have thirty eight affiliates at NCNW and so we
have some that will work with their Jack and Jill,
or they'll be working with their top Ladies of distinction
in Georgia, or they'll work with perhaps INAACP, which is
not an affiliate, but they're a partner. So we have
(04:45):
various folks that we're actually working with in these various
states as a cohort to really do these efforts to
have the events, whatever those events are. I'll tell you
even outside of those events, I know that in DC
last week or week after week before actually it was
voter education high school voter education week, and so we
(05:06):
actually did an activity even here based on that. But
those things were going on also within the eight states.
Now we also supplemented the eight states with a second
tier or two. So we started working with the second
tier of states because we had so much excitement about
this program, about the strategy in building and working with
folks and making sure that they were understanding how to
(05:29):
register going to events, and of course we are nonpartisan.
We're a non partisan organization. So as we were doing this,
we were doing it in non partisan ways, whether they
were cookouts or at churches, whatever was going on, we
were getting the message out and getting people registered to vote.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So I want to ask you something, what is it
about these eight states that caused you to delineate them
to focus your efforts on registering voters? What makes them
so special?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
We knew that there were a number of eligible voters
who were not registered to vote. We looked at the
data from twenty twenty, we looked at the data from
twenty twenty two, and we decided that we needed to
make an effort in these particular states that we had
(06:23):
a good plethora of members and sections. And so with
that understanding, how viable we could be to the process
of maybe bringing people to this process of being registered
to vote was essential in order to make sure that
we were doing our civic duty to protect democracy, to
make sure that people were going to elevate their opinions.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
And get out there and vote.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
So we were doing whatever we could do to make
sure that they were going to be able to do that.
So that's what really brought us to the fact that
we had these these eight states out there. You know,
we have a good number of collegiate members too in
these states, and we knew that the youth were not
(07:09):
getting that tapped. Let me tell you about the goal
really of this eight state strategy. We had a goal
of reaching out to seventeen year olds to twenty five
year olds.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
That's our focus. Those are the groups, those are.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
The that's the I guess the category the section of
folks that we really wanted to reach out to initially.
But we also wanted to make sure that Black women
as a whole. I mean, people think that black women
all are already voters or and we are to a
great extent, but there are people that we have not
registered who could vote. So we wanted to make sure
(07:42):
that we were reaching out to Black women, their families,
and their communities. One thing with n C and W
our mission is to educate, to elevate, and to engage
women of African descent on issues that they care about,
we care about and protecting them and elevating who they are.
(08:04):
But we do that within not only black women, but
we do that by educating them and their families as
well as the communities where they sit and live.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Your voice is powerful, your voice matters. Don't let your
voice be silenced. To register, confirm your voting status, or
get information about voting in your area, visit vote dot gov.
That's vote dot goov a message from the Perception Institute
and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
You know, I feel like you read my mind. I
was going to ask, you know, not only are there
eligible voters that aren't registered, but registered voters that aren't voting,
and they are, in some cases a part of our
younger generation. And it's like you knew that I was
thinking that and kind of spoke to it already. Is
there anything that we can do with our messaging or
(09:08):
the way that we deliver the information that we can
get those groups more engaged.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, first of all, we have to be we have
to be open in sharing that. The first and vital
thing is to get involved in the process. You know,
really being a nonpartisan is helpful because we're not there
to judge on who they should be voting for at
the time.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
We're there to get them engaged in the process.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Once we engage them in the process, then we want
to help educate them on not only what the process is,
but what's at stake, what are the things that they
should be caring about, and kind of talk to them
about what they do care about and give them some
of the answers as to what you know, various thoughts
are out there. So we've been doing it that way
(09:57):
to make sure that we are covering the gamut of
bringing in those who have not voted, those who are
new to the voting process.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
I think that that's the next thing.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We have so many youth who are turning of age
to vote to begin with, and we can't ignore that.
You grab them early, you grab them young, and I
hope hopefully.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
They would stay in the process.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Civics is not really being taught in school like it
should be, So that's why we really had another focus
on it.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Because we need to help teach our youth.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
That's something that we need to be responsible for as
a community of black women, black people and so that's
why we have leaned in there, but we kind of
went further with that. We went further in understanding that
the whole concept of voting, that's one thing, but getting
(10:48):
to the polls that's the next piece. Making sure that
they actually do go and express their thoughts. So we've
got more coming with this eighth State All State Initiative,
this strategy and.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
That we've started.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
We've registered people one hundred and thirty k plus, but
we also have to make sure now we get them
to the bulls, So we have to continue to educate
them on what's going on with the whole avenue of
options and who is why you should value what you
(11:22):
care about and who values what you care about.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
It's really about the way you talk about it, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I believe that because we have this age difference of
our voters as a whole, this whole in mark, because
we have seniors who care about certain things, but we
have youth who care perhaps about another thing. So just
having a whole gamut of understanding what the values are
as a whole and understanding, in my opinion, one of
(11:49):
the most important values is holding firm of our democracy.
The fact that you can vote, and the fact that
that could go away, and the fact that as people
as by their beliefs, you got to believe them. If
they're going to take it away, they will take it away.
They will be king for the day. So you've got
to make sure that you're listening and you're involved in
(12:10):
the whole process. And so we're trying to help people
do that as well.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Well. You know, I think that you know, for folks
that aren't all the way tapped in, but people who
are of a similar mind, similar motivation. They're in their
communities around the country listening to us, you know, every
time we do our show, and they're more engaged than
perhaps the rest of the folks in their friend group.
(12:35):
And these are the sorts of people that want to
motivate folks in their own communities. You may have come
across topics, issues, conversations that have given you insight into
what actually motivates people to vote. Right, If you have
that and can share that a bit before you go,
we'd appreciate you sharing it with our listeners. And I'll
(12:57):
ask one other question. If there's a place where maybe
there's some tools or some strategies or something about the
eight State all state initiative that folks can go check out.
Maybe it's online, maybe it can be sent in a
newslet or something like that. Some connective tissue for those
of our listeners who are a little bit more engaged
and really actively trying to make some changes in their community.
Leave us with a little bit of that, just so
(13:19):
people know how to motivate their communities and maybe whatever
tools that they can use as well.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Perfect well, I will say that in listening to the
issues that people care about and what they're saying that
they care about, economics right now really top sid sure
people care about feeding their families, making sure that they
have health care coverage, making sure that they can pay
(13:45):
off their school loans, making sure that they can make
enough where they don't have to have two and three jobs.
So economics really does. I think that is what has
been the elevated issue of the day. I think that
other people do care about, especially women. We care about
(14:06):
making sure we have control over our bodies, So that
is another issue that we care about. And thank god,
now men are beginning to really care about how we
feel about our bodies too, and I think that that
is a bonus that has really been helpful in understanding
that this is not just a woman issue. It's not
women or have their bodies, but men usually have their mothers,
(14:30):
they have their sisters, and my god, they have their
daughters that they're raising as well, so they care about
that too. So we're coming together as a community now
really elevating that issue. So I think that's the second issue.
And if I would have a third issue, I think
that this whole criminal I want to say, protection really
black keeping us from being harmed by those who seek
(14:53):
to dispel us or make us feel less than because
we're black and going against our rights to just be
people and seeing us as the enemy just because we
have dark skins. Very much so with the young people,
that is something that they care about. They don't want
to be the target. They don't want to be ostracized
(15:16):
because in certain ways, because they are of a darker skin,
they're black, you know, they're a black persons, so and
I mean by the police, so that is a concern
that they definitely have, and by communities of such.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
So I think that that's important.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
I would say that the next thing that we really
would love for folks to do is if they have
an interest in working with us.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Reach out to us. Reach out to us at NCNW
dot org.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We've got a website there where we do have the
eighth state all State strategy. We have a place there
where people can go ahead and volunteer. We have a
place there where people can also just kind of sign
up and vote if they aren't registered to vote. Now
you're listening to me, and go there to that page
and registered vote, see what you know. If it's still
open within your community, you could do so. Also see
what's on the ballot. We have a tool there where
(16:05):
you can see what's on the ballot in your neighborhood.
You can see if you're registered or not, all kinds
of things of that nature. And also I would just
say that if folks really want to dig in and
get a little bit deeper, I don't mind giving my
email address.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's really simple.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
It's p White like the color whiite PS and Paul
White White.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
At NCNW dot org.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
So love to hear from people and elevate with them
the process what we're doing. The one thing that I
wanted to mention there was that we had a second
tier of states. There's seven of them where we're kind
of looking at some of the processes and helping people
to register the vote as well as get out the
vote as well. Those states would be New York, which
(16:48):
we want to make sure things go the right way there.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
We're looking at Maryland. We've got a black woman on
the ballot.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
We're nonpartisan, of course, but we also care about making
sure that people who look like yes elevated in this process,
and she's definitely one we have. Let's see, that's Maryland.
We have New York, we have Wisconsin is one. We
actually have California. We've looked at and got some members
(17:16):
in California who are really helping and getting out some
of these things as well. Other than California, we have Colorado, Nevada,
and Arizona. So those places are really places that we
care about and making sure that we're elevating the whole
process of democracy and making sure people are getting to
the polls, they're getting out, they're voting their conscience, and
(17:37):
helping to move democracy alone.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Before we let you go, I want to highlight something
that you said about NCNW dot org learning about the
things that are on the ballot where you live. We
hear about voting down ballot, but I know for some
people that's intimidating their things on there that they don't understand.
They know who's running for president, so they vote there.
The things they don't understand, they kind of don't participate.
So I think it's excellent that's such a tool exists
(18:01):
for those of us who need a bit more in
the way of information as we participate in our civic engagement.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yeah, and we have an eight state all state tool
get to so if you reach in to me, I'll
be able to share that and so that folks can
really understand how they can weave into the process.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And I want to say this just before we go,
because we've talked about eight states and additional seven states.
But there's something for you regardless of what state you
live in. This is something that anyone from any state
in the country can benefit from. Right, there's a community
that you care about. You can use these tools exact
and make some changes in your community. So again, plug
(18:34):
the website for us one more time.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
It's NCNW dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Okay, Well, I know you have to run. You've you've
given us more time than we deserve. I appreciate you
spending this little bit of extra time.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
For pleasure. Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Our guest has been Portia White, the National Council for
Negro Women's Vice president of Advocacy and Policy. Thank you
so much, Thank you so much for your time. Be
sure to check back for additional episodes right here on
the Black Information Network Daily podcast
Welcome to our special series Distinguished Ladies of the NCNW
here on the Black Information Network. Recently, myself, ramses Jah
and q Ward made our way to Baltimore for the
sixty first Annual Convention of the National Council of Negro Women,
and we're able to have some meaningful conversations with some
of the most powerful and influential Black women in America.
(00:20):
We discuss politics, education, healthcare, economics, and everything in between.
So sit back and enjoy today's episode of the Distinguished
Ladies of the NCNW here on the Black Information Network. Okay,
checking back in with you from the NCNW National Convention
here in Baltimore, the Year of Our Lord, twenty twenty four.
(00:44):
Enjoying every minute of our time on the ground here,
being surrounded by all of this black excellence, a lot
of Black girl magic in the room, a lot of
feminine powerful energy in the room. And you know, we've
(01:06):
been able to meet and shake hands with so many
people who are such an inspiration. And our next guest
is perhaps the most impressive so far, not just because
of your presence, but also you know, you're here to
talk to us about something that's incredibly meaningful, and we
think a lot of people need to know about what
(01:29):
you've accomplished and what is being accomplished as we speak.
Our guest is Portia White. She is the vice president
of Advocacy and Policy for the National Council of Negro Women.
And it's just an honor to have you.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
On the show.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Welcome, thank you, thank you so much. So glad to
be here and share a little bit about what we're doing. Yeah,
and how we're shaking knocking around the country.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, now, because I've been champing at the bid, talk
to us a bit about the eighth state all state
push that we've been hearing about.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yes, so we have an eighth state all state strategy strategy,
and it is that strategy to make sure that we're
covering the base of our sections who we know are
in very strategic places, I will say it that way,
and those states are Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan,
(02:36):
and best of all, I guess, Pennsylvania. So we have
a strategy where we have built a whole corehort of
members and affiliates too to work with us to do
got efforts from start to finish. So we have been
doing this for a bit. We've been doing this for
(02:58):
a while. We're moving goot efforts, GOTV, get out the vote,
gotcha okay efforts, GOOTV got it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And we started with, of course registering people to vote.
We have registered up to this point one hundred and
thirty thousand people. Talk to them, and we are elevating
that as we move on, and I know that time
is getting close to an end when most people will
be able to register.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
But as as far as.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
We can keep moving it, we're gonna keep building it.
We're gonna keep building that number, driving that number up. Frankly,
it was one thirty, one hundred and thirty k about
a week and a half ago. I assume that number
is definitely grown. So I'm excited so.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
For our listeners who are in those eight states who
want to galvanize this energy in this momentum that we
have into actionable steps. If I'm listening to this message,
how can I be involved with amplifying the message that
you just shared with us.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Well, we do have state Let me just tell you
a little bit about the way that we've actually structured
it least, so we have state managers, We have site leads.
So with any of these states that I've mentioned, we
have site leads who will help to in their various
communities connect to all the various affiliates that we have.
(04:23):
We have thirty eight affiliates at NCNW and so we
have some that will work with their Jack and Jill,
or they'll be working with their top Ladies of distinction
in Georgia, or they'll work with perhaps INAACP, which is
not an affiliate, but they're a partner. So we have
(04:45):
various folks that we're actually working with in these various
states as a cohort to really do these efforts to
have the events, whatever those events are. I'll tell you
even outside of those events, I know that in DC
last week or week after week before actually it was
voter education high school voter education week, and so we
(05:06):
actually did an activity even here based on that. But
those things were going on also within the eight states.
Now we also supplemented the eight states with a second
tier or two. So we started working with the second
tier of states because we had so much excitement about
this program, about the strategy in building and working with
folks and making sure that they were understanding how to
(05:29):
register going to events, and of course we are nonpartisan.
We're a non partisan organization. So as we were doing this,
we were doing it in non partisan ways, whether they
were cookouts or at churches, whatever was going on, we
were getting the message out and getting people registered to vote.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So I want to ask you something, what is it
about these eight states that caused you to delineate them
to focus your efforts on registering voters? What makes them
so special?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
We knew that there were a number of eligible voters
who were not registered to vote. We looked at the
data from twenty twenty, we looked at the data from
twenty twenty two, and we decided that we needed to
make an effort in these particular states that we had
(06:23):
a good plethora of members and sections. And so with
that understanding, how viable we could be to the process
of maybe bringing people to this process of being registered
to vote was essential in order to make sure that
we were doing our civic duty to protect democracy, to
make sure that people were going to elevate their opinions.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
And get out there and vote.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
So we were doing whatever we could do to make
sure that they were going to be able to do that.
So that's what really brought us to the fact that
we had these these eight states out there. You know,
we have a good number of collegiate members too in
these states, and we knew that the youth were not
(07:09):
getting that tapped. Let me tell you about the goal
really of this eight state strategy. We had a goal
of reaching out to seventeen year olds to twenty five
year olds.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
That's our focus. Those are the groups, those are.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
The that's the I guess the category the section of
folks that we really wanted to reach out to initially.
But we also wanted to make sure that Black women
as a whole. I mean, people think that black women
all are already voters or and we are to a
great extent, but there are people that we have not
registered who could vote. So we wanted to make sure
(07:42):
that we were reaching out to Black women, their families,
and their communities. One thing with n C and W
our mission is to educate, to elevate, and to engage
women of African descent on issues that they care about,
we care about and protecting them and elevating who they are.
(08:04):
But we do that within not only black women, but
we do that by educating them and their families as
well as the communities where they sit and live.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Your voice is powerful, your voice matters. Don't let your
voice be silenced. To register, confirm your voting status, or
get information about voting in your area, visit vote dot gov.
That's vote dot goov a message from the Perception Institute
and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
You know, I feel like you read my mind. I
was going to ask, you know, not only are there
eligible voters that aren't registered, but registered voters that aren't voting,
and they are, in some cases a part of our
younger generation. And it's like you knew that I was
thinking that and kind of spoke to it already. Is
there anything that we can do with our messaging or
(09:08):
the way that we deliver the information that we can
get those groups more engaged.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, first of all, we have to be we have
to be open in sharing that. The first and vital
thing is to get involved in the process. You know,
really being a nonpartisan is helpful because we're not there
to judge on who they should be voting for at
the time.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
We're there to get them engaged in the process.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Once we engage them in the process, then we want
to help educate them on not only what the process is,
but what's at stake, what are the things that they
should be caring about, and kind of talk to them
about what they do care about and give them some
of the answers as to what you know, various thoughts
are out there. So we've been doing it that way
(09:57):
to make sure that we are covering the gamut of
bringing in those who have not voted, those who are
new to the voting process.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
I think that that's the next thing.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We have so many youth who are turning of age
to vote to begin with, and we can't ignore that.
You grab them early, you grab them young, and I
hope hopefully.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
They would stay in the process.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Civics is not really being taught in school like it
should be, So that's why we really had another focus
on it.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Because we need to help teach our youth.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
That's something that we need to be responsible for as
a community of black women, black people and so that's
why we have leaned in there, but we kind of
went further with that. We went further in understanding that
the whole concept of voting, that's one thing, but getting
(10:48):
to the polls that's the next piece. Making sure that
they actually do go and express their thoughts. So we've
got more coming with this eighth State All State Initiative,
this strategy and.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
That we've started.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
We've registered people one hundred and thirty k plus, but
we also have to make sure now we get them
to the bulls, So we have to continue to educate
them on what's going on with the whole avenue of
options and who is why you should value what you
(11:22):
care about and who values what you care about.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
It's really about the way you talk about it, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I believe that because we have this age difference of
our voters as a whole, this whole in mark, because
we have seniors who care about certain things, but we
have youth who care perhaps about another thing. So just
having a whole gamut of understanding what the values are
as a whole and understanding, in my opinion, one of
(11:49):
the most important values is holding firm of our democracy.
The fact that you can vote, and the fact that
that could go away, and the fact that as people
as by their beliefs, you got to believe them. If
they're going to take it away, they will take it away.
They will be king for the day. So you've got
to make sure that you're listening and you're involved in
(12:10):
the whole process. And so we're trying to help people
do that as well.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Well. You know, I think that you know, for folks
that aren't all the way tapped in, but people who
are of a similar mind, similar motivation. They're in their
communities around the country listening to us, you know, every
time we do our show, and they're more engaged than
perhaps the rest of the folks in their friend group.
(12:35):
And these are the sorts of people that want to
motivate folks in their own communities. You may have come
across topics, issues, conversations that have given you insight into
what actually motivates people to vote. Right, If you have
that and can share that a bit before you go,
we'd appreciate you sharing it with our listeners. And I'll
(12:57):
ask one other question. If there's a place where maybe
there's some tools or some strategies or something about the
eight State all state initiative that folks can go check out.
Maybe it's online, maybe it can be sent in a
newslet or something like that. Some connective tissue for those
of our listeners who are a little bit more engaged
and really actively trying to make some changes in their community.
Leave us with a little bit of that, just so
(13:19):
people know how to motivate their communities and maybe whatever
tools that they can use as well.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Perfect well, I will say that in listening to the
issues that people care about and what they're saying that
they care about, economics right now really top sid sure
people care about feeding their families, making sure that they
have health care coverage, making sure that they can pay
(13:45):
off their school loans, making sure that they can make
enough where they don't have to have two and three jobs.
So economics really does. I think that is what has
been the elevated issue of the day. I think that
other people do care about, especially women. We care about
(14:06):
making sure we have control over our bodies, So that
is another issue that we care about. And thank god,
now men are beginning to really care about how we
feel about our bodies too, and I think that that
is a bonus that has really been helpful in understanding
that this is not just a woman issue. It's not
women or have their bodies, but men usually have their mothers,
(14:30):
they have their sisters, and my god, they have their
daughters that they're raising as well, so they care about
that too. So we're coming together as a community now
really elevating that issue. So I think that's the second issue.
And if I would have a third issue, I think
that this whole criminal I want to say, protection really
black keeping us from being harmed by those who seek
(14:53):
to dispel us or make us feel less than because
we're black and going against our rights to just be
people and seeing us as the enemy just because we
have dark skins. Very much so with the young people,
that is something that they care about. They don't want
to be the target. They don't want to be ostracized
(15:16):
because in certain ways, because they are of a darker skin,
they're black, you know, they're a black persons, so and
I mean by the police, so that is a concern
that they definitely have, and by communities of such.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
So I think that that's important.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
I would say that the next thing that we really
would love for folks to do is if they have
an interest in working with us.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Reach out to us. Reach out to us at NCNW
dot org.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We've got a website there where we do have the
eighth state all State strategy. We have a place there
where people can go ahead and volunteer. We have a
place there where people can also just kind of sign
up and vote if they aren't registered to vote. Now
you're listening to me, and go there to that page
and registered vote, see what you know. If it's still
open within your community, you could do so. Also see
what's on the ballot. We have a tool there where
(16:05):
you can see what's on the ballot in your neighborhood.
You can see if you're registered or not, all kinds
of things of that nature. And also I would just
say that if folks really want to dig in and
get a little bit deeper, I don't mind giving my
email address.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's really simple.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
It's p White like the color whiite PS and Paul
White White.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
At NCNW dot org.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
So love to hear from people and elevate with them
the process what we're doing. The one thing that I
wanted to mention there was that we had a second
tier of states. There's seven of them where we're kind
of looking at some of the processes and helping people
to register the vote as well as get out the
vote as well. Those states would be New York, which
(16:48):
we want to make sure things go the right way there.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
We're looking at Maryland. We've got a black woman on
the ballot.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
We're nonpartisan, of course, but we also care about making
sure that people who look like yes elevated in this process,
and she's definitely one we have. Let's see, that's Maryland.
We have New York, we have Wisconsin is one. We
actually have California. We've looked at and got some members
(17:16):
in California who are really helping and getting out some
of these things as well. Other than California, we have Colorado, Nevada,
and Arizona. So those places are really places that we
care about and making sure that we're elevating the whole
process of democracy and making sure people are getting to
the polls, they're getting out, they're voting their conscience, and
(17:37):
helping to move democracy alone.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Before we let you go, I want to highlight something
that you said about NCNW dot org learning about the
things that are on the ballot where you live. We
hear about voting down ballot, but I know for some
people that's intimidating their things on there that they don't understand.
They know who's running for president, so they vote there.
The things they don't understand, they kind of don't participate.
So I think it's excellent that's such a tool exists
(18:01):
for those of us who need a bit more in
the way of information as we participate in our civic engagement.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yeah, and we have an eight state all state tool
get to so if you reach in to me, I'll
be able to share that and so that folks can
really understand how they can weave into the process.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And I want to say this just before we go,
because we've talked about eight states and additional seven states.
But there's something for you regardless of what state you
live in. This is something that anyone from any state
in the country can benefit from. Right, there's a community
that you care about. You can use these tools exact
and make some changes in your community. So again, plug
(18:34):
the website for us one more time.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
It's NCNW dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Okay, Well, I know you have to run. You've you've
given us more time than we deserve. I appreciate you
spending this little bit of extra time.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
For pleasure. Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Our guest has been Portia White, the National Council for
Negro Women's Vice president of Advocacy and Policy. Thank you
so much, Thank you so much for your time. Be
sure to check back for additional episodes right here on
the Black Information Network Daily podcast
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