Dunk
the Vote
Dunk the Vote is a non-partisan organization that focuses on voter registration, education and turnout. The mission of Dunk the Vote is to support and enhance accountable self-empowerment within and for Black communities.
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Participate & Motivate
The Black Book: Know Your Rights
This Booklet is a resource. It will help anyone who carries it become familiar with their rights, to recognize when they are being violated, and to have the information they need to act and protect themselves.
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.
Connecting Boston’s Underheard Voices
The Real Talk Network builds the connective tissue that strengthens communities, informs better systems, and grows shared power.
Watch Real Talk Network videos at the links below
DTV News & Blog
Milton gathering honors 5th anniversary of George Floyd’s death
MILTON — Despite the harsh wind and rain of a rare spring nor’easter, over 50 people gathered at Parkway Methodist Church Thursday evening to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death. In a small hall adjacent to the sanctuary, activists, community and...
Five years after the murder of George Floyd, local activists say progress has stalled
Hodan Hashi was 21 years old when George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. She was about to become an activist. “It just felt like we should say something, our voices do matter,” Hashi said on an episode of GBH News Rooted this week. “And that was, I think, the...
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...
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
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
MIT’s ‘Real Talk’ Campaign Gives Likely Voters a Voice in Boston’s Race for Mayor
The Boston Globe August 24, 2021 “Real Talk for Change,” a new civic engagement campaign launched by MIT researchers, aims to give voice to regular people across the City of Boston, especially those who feel ignored, reports Meghan E. Irons for The Boston Globe. “We...
Boston Black Men’s Committee Launches, Vows To Register Thousands Of New Voters
Acting Mayor Kim Janey speaks at the launch of the Boston Black Men's Committee, which plans to register 20,000 new Black voters before this fall's elections. The group says it will not endorse in the mayoral race. Adam Reilly / GBH News By Adam Reilly June 29, 2021...
Black Male Leaders Call for Revival of City Commission
Community leaders gathered Tuesday to spearhead a new effort to study the plight of Boston’s Black men and boys.
Confronting COVID-19 – Harvard School of Public Health
As we approach the second year since the COVID-19 virus was first identified in the U.S., several states have recently rolled back precautions, including mask mandates and capacity limits. As CDC Director and Harvard Chan alumna Dr. Rochelle Walensky recently wrote, “I do think that the next month or two is really pivotal in terms of how this pandemic goes. As we scale up vaccination, we really do need to decrease the amount of virus that is circulating.”
Black History Month Vaccine Event – Dunk the Vote CELL
Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other elected officials are speaking at the Reggie Lewis Center, which is hosting a unique two-day event to give COVID-19 vaccines to Boston’s Black and Latino residents.
After National Efforts, Ron Bell Plans to Return to Mission Hill
Some two decades ago, in the hot, late summer afternoons that are typical of Boston, one could routinely find Mission Hill native and Dunk the Vote founder Ron Bell canvassing the ins and outs of Mission Park – knocking on doors in the Alice Taylor Development – and handing out voter registration cards on Tremont Street.
Dunk the Vote featured in Commonwealth Magazine
Dunk the Vote and Rob Bell were featured in Commonwealth Magazine. “Turnout numbers highlight wealth, racial disparities”
Black Boston News Broadcasting Live from Dudley Cafe
November 27 & 28 10AM & 4PM
Boston Black News will cover this story live.
CityLine: Sunday, Nov.1, 2020: Amplify Latinx & Dunk the Vote
Ron Bell and Dunk the VOTE on CityLine
Voting initiatives focus on Black voters: ‘We know more than anyone that voting has consequences’
Boston Globe article Dunk the Vote 2020
DTV Listen!
Help with Registration
Find PPE
Help with Mail-in Voting
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.
