Dunk
the Vote
Dunk The Vote
Dunk The Vote 4 Ever (DTV) Civic Engagement Leadership Lab (CELL) is a non-partisan initiative, focused on increasing participation and turnout considering voting as a public health emergency, using social media to strengthen ground game.
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Guides to Local Government
Residents must be engaged to address issues that affect them – many are literally life or death, such as the extreme wealth gap, violence, gentrification and displacement, declining rates of home ownership in the Black community, and many others.
Click below for our Guides to Local Government publications.
Local nonprofit launches civil rights education effort with ‘The Black Book’
Ron Bell (right), founder of Dunk the Vote, hands out copies of the organization’s “Black Book” at the Boston Office of Black Male Advancement Empowerment Summit, March 7. The book explains civil rights broadly, as well as specifically in reference to areas like...
‘Hidden Heroes & Sheroes’ 8 from Codman Sq. and Four Corners feted
Neighborhood Leadership awardee Flora Bannis, of Flora’s Child Care on Brent Street, was surprised by a contingent of her students during her award presentation. Seth Daniel photosWith a packed house in the Great Hall at Codman Square, the annual Hidden Heroes &...
The Codman Square Neighborhood Council has awarded Ron Bell the 2024 Millennium Award for community impact
Ron Bell Honored The Codman Square Neighborhood Council has awarded Ron Bell the 2024 Millennium Award for community impact. I cannot think of anyone who deserves to be honored and recognized more yet never seeks attention for self. Ron Bell received TEN citations...
Murder in Boston review: Exploring the legacy of a racist rush to judgment
HBO’s true-crime docuseries chronicles the case of Charles Stuart, who killed his wife and blamed it on a Black man.
By Kristen Baldwin
Published on November 27, 2023 11:27AM EST
Dear Friend,
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Enacted by Congress in 1965, this cornerstone accomplishment of the Civil Rights Era was put in place to remove race-based restrictions on voting. For more than half a century, it has protected the ability of American minorities to secure representation in our government.
Increasingly, however, in today’s America, efforts are advancing to roll back these and other hard-fought victories for equality and justice. Reversals of voting rights and protections against job discrimination, a blind eye turned to civil rights violations and denial of economic opportunities – these forces can only be kept at bay with vigilant, concrete action from real people who are willing to fight back.
With those realities in mind, we have introduced a tool to equip ourselves, our allies, and our at-risk brothers and sisters against these infringements.
“The Black Book: Know Your Rights” is a pocket-sized resource, laying out the most vital knowledge and trustworthy assistance organizations for anyone who thinks they may have had their rights violated. We believe it is a powerful and convenient reference for anyone who could experience racial discrimination or police brutality, and violations of voting, immigrant, or other civil rights.
So far we have distributed hundreds of copies, and the response from the community has been incredibly enthusiastic. We want to put “The Black Book” in as many hands as possible. The more support we get, the more copies we can print and distribute to people who need them. You can take a look at the digital version here: https://www.dunkthevote4ever.org/project/the-black-book-know-your-rights.
If you can donate right now, we can have these resources distributed as quickly as possible. Please consider directly funding this important tool at the link or code below.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SZKEJM4HVKSUQ
Yours Truly,
Ron Bell,
Dunk the Vote Founding Director
P.S. If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to our fiscal sponsor, Circle of Nations, and send it to Ron Bell/Dunk the Vote, PO Box 990525, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199. And, as ever, thanks for your support! We also accept donations by PayPal and credit card by clicking on the link or scanning the QR code below.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SZKEJM4HVKSUQ
Social Media
Partnerships
Education
“Ron Bell and Dunk the Vote, Inc. are at the forefront of a dynamic civic movement… Ron Bell is a vsionary leader who continually takes initiative to create new vehicles to enhance the development of young people… He is building a civic engagement and voter program that could be a model for the nation.”
Hubie E. Jones
Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Social Work
“As a young African American man, I did not understand that opting out of the system meant opting out of the the power to change the system”
DTV Leadership Intitute Gradutate
Zachary Roscoe
“I choose to give my flowers today to honor a man who never seeks to be seen or heard but is one powerful shaker and baker in our community Mr. Ron Bell!! I have known Ron for many years. I first met him in the capacity of being his employee at the Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill. He gave opportunities for growth to so many many youth through his position there and helped to change the course of so many individuals and families. If that was not enough he never said no to opportunities for his employees to reach out to families in Mission Hill and surrounding areas. Always encouraging, always supportive and most of all always leading by example. He taught us how important the power of voting is and began to reach out to others in the community, the city and the state through his Dunk the Vote Initiative. I could never figure out how he found the time and energy to make a difference e in so many areas. And still today he has not slowed down one bit. Minister, radio and t.v. personality, voter registration and education and helping folks any chance he gets. The most impressive thing to me is that Ron never rings his own bell. He just shows up and gets it done. He is an amazing human being and a more amazing friend!”
Denise Williams
Voting initiatives focus on Black voters: ‘We know more than anyone that voting has consequences’
Boston Globe article Dunk the Vote 2020
Dunk the Vote 2020 Awards
Sunday, September 27
Democracy in Action – Feline Style!
Grant Geek Diva Dawn Duncan This lovely kitty is named Lenox. He is the winner of the cat costume contest at a cat show that was held on Sunday, August 25, 2024 in Natick, MA. My friend and colleague, Ron Bell, of Boston Black News, was asked for the second year in a...
Data is Data, Even if You Don’t Want it To Be
Grant Geek Diva Dawn Duncan This post is a continuation, in some ways, of my previous posts about governance and politics being different things (https://grantgeekdiva.wordpress.com/2024/07/12/politics-and-governance-are-not-the-same-thing/). Data, in this context,...
Politics and Governance are NOT the Same Thing
Grant Geek Diva Dawn Duncan This post expands upon a post I created a few weeks ago that provided a basic introduction to the structure of the government in the United States based on the three branches of government. In that post, I also talked briefly about how...
Understanding Government Structure: A Basic Introduction
Grant Geek Diva Dawn Duncan So, I’ve been reading some books lately that have gotten my mind going about how critical people are of government and how there are so many things we take for granted that government does. It made me start feeling prompted to write some...
Local nonprofit launches civil rights education effort with ‘The Black Book’
Ron Bell (right), founder of Dunk the Vote, hands out copies of the organization’s “Black Book” at the Boston Office of Black Male Advancement Empowerment Summit, March 7. The book explains civil rights broadly, as well as specifically in reference to areas like...
‘Hidden Heroes & Sheroes’ 8 from Codman Sq. and Four Corners feted
Neighborhood Leadership awardee Flora Bannis, of Flora’s Child Care on Brent Street, was surprised by a contingent of her students during her award presentation. Seth Daniel photosWith a packed house in the Great Hall at Codman Square, the annual Hidden Heroes &...
The Codman Square Neighborhood Council has awarded Ron Bell the 2024 Millennium Award for community impact
Ron Bell Honored The Codman Square Neighborhood Council has awarded Ron Bell the 2024 Millennium Award for community impact. I cannot think of anyone who deserves to be honored and recognized more yet never seeks attention for self. Ron Bell received TEN citations...
MURDER IN BOSTON WINS EMMY AWARD!
The Stuart Tragedy in Mission Hill Among the night's winners was the three-part docuseries “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, Reckoning,” which took home the award for outstanding crime and justice documentary, in a category that also included “Wanted: The Escape of...
A Walk Down the Block: Tracing the history of busing through Boston’s streets | GBH
By Paris Alston WGBH Updated September 24, 2024 Let’s take a walk down the block. Today, we’re starting on Beacon Hill, where tales of Paul Revere and other famous Americans abound. But we’re exploring a history that’s more hidden. This is a walking tour of the...
Boston’s busing crisis, 50 years later: Reflecting on segregation in the city
Fifty years ago, school buses started shuttling students across Boston as part of court-ordered desegregation efforts that quickly started.
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Mission
Voting is a public health emergency. COVID has both made it more difficult and more important than ever to vote. The proposed intensive, aggressive strategy is based on the Civic Engagement Leadership Lab (Cell) model that utilizes grassroots organizing concepts and leadership development combined with well-established voter engagement strategy.
It is important to understand the long history of racism and voter suppression that continues to plague Black and Latinx communities in Massachusetts, which contributes to low voter turnout. Add COVID, as people of color are three times more likely to die from COVID, and we truly have a public health emergency.
The need we are addressing is one of ensuring that people are able to exercise their vote safely, in local, state, and national elections by promoting voter participation and protecting the public health of communities.
