02

Rationale

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. Boston has been known as having a dark history as related to building race relations – redlining in the 60s, busing in the 70s, Stuart tragedy in the 80s, stop and frisk in the 90s and the huge wealth gap that is a result of all of these factors in the 2000s. These issues have resulted in budget cuts in education, the school-to-prison pipeline, gentrification, displacement, and a black family’s net worth being less than minimum wage. This equates to the concept of 3/5 of a human back in the day. 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.

03

Key Strategies

• Citizens 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.
• DTV 2020 CELL is an innovative and practical solution to civic engagement and voter participation using community organizing, public health protective measures, and an intergenerational model that understands differences in the generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials (Generation Y) and the newest group of voters – Generation Z.
• The model is also based on the network and people that has been built up over the years, using the 5Cs model, which was created by Ron Bell, and includes the importance of collaborating with organizations representing each of the 5Cs – 1. Community-based Organizations, 2. Colleges, 3. Civil Rights Groups, 4. Churches/Clergy and 5. Corporations.
• The beneficiaries of this intervention will include black men, the Black and Latinx community, and young people with a focus on urban neighborhoods in Massachusetts such as Boston, Cambridge, Brockton, Milton, Randolph, Lynn, New Bedford, Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke, Lawrence and Lowell.
• This is an Innovative, Aggressive Social Media Campaign going to the aforementioned 12 communities with significant numbers of Black and Latinx people.
• Utilize social media to share literature and to get people to commit to voting on election day.
• Include a major focus on ballot questions and electoral reform, particularly Vote Yes on 2 to promote and educate communities about ranked choice voting.
• Develop and implement partnerships to promote potential high turnout social media events such as Watch Parties with key groups, leaders in the various ballot question movements and other groups.
• Utilize non-traditional and culturally relevant methods to share information about ballot questions such as skits, PSAs, and songs, particularly for Black and Latinx communities and in various languages.
• Address all of the key areas of New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund including Policing and Criminal Justice Reform, Health Care Equity, Economic Empowerment and Youth, Education, Empowerment and Civic Engagement.