By now you have heard about One Nation Working Together, the historic March on Washington scheduled for 10.2.10. The NAACP will lead a broad coalition to bring America together and put America back to work. But 10.2.10 is just the beginning. The next step comes in November.
Are you registered to vote yet? Are your friends and family?
This year's elections are shaping up to be as crucial as 2008. As some media pundits attempt to turn back the clock by reopening the "debate" over the Civil Rights Act, the 14th Amendment and affordable health care, we need to stay strong and focused. Most importantly, we need to vote.
If you are not registered, you can do it right here, right now. The NAACP has developed Upload 2 Uplift, a new initiative to empower voters with the click of a mouse. Our online tool enables people to register to vote on the web and spread the word to family and friends who are not yet registered:
http://action.naacp.org/Upload2Uplift
Since its inception, the NAACP has been committed to bringing the fundamental right to vote to every member of the black community. And despite huge strides in voter turnout during the Presidential election, only 69% of African Americans are currently registered to vote, compared to 75% of non-Hispanic whites.
Our goal is to register every last voter, to verify every last voter, to mobilize every last voter, and to protect the rights of every last voter because in close elections, every vote counts.
But to achieve this goal, we need your help. Tell your networks about Upload 2 Uplift so that this innovative technology can reach the millions of remaining unregistered voters.
Once you are signed up for Upload 2 Uplift, a mobile messaging feature will remind you to vote on Election Day. Make sure your voice counts and get started now:
http://action.naacp.org/Upload2Uplift
We must stay strong and focused. In the last speech Dr. King gave he said, "Nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn back now." We have come too far to turn back. Join us in Washington, DC on 10.2.10 and, most importantly, register to vote.
For more than 100 years the NAACP has been working to facilitate change, but it's up to you to make sure change starts at the polls.
Thanks for your support,
Ben Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP