The United States of America is founded on principles of equality, but to achieve the goals of our democracy and overcome our unequal past we must commit ourselves to equity. This starts with acknowledging institutionalized racism and seeking to dismantle it. So, here and now, we too say:
Black lives matter.
The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are recent tragedies, but the roots from which they emerge have plagued American society from its inception. The solutions to these issues will have to be as diverse as the citizens they affect.
Campus Vote Project is dedicated to the work of welcoming the newest members of our democracy into the process by empowering students with the information they need to register and vote. We do this work because we believe that a healthy democracy requires all individuals to have a voice in the collective processes we use to build and sustain communities. In this work we are aware of and seek to overcome racist policies that suppress the vote. We also recognize that voting, however, is only one avenue for civic engagement. We believe that it will take protest and nonviolent direct action working hand-in-hand with political engagement and voting to dismantle institutionalized racism.
Campus Vote Project stands with those who are working and fighting for equity and justice around the country. We believe that access to the polls and using the ballot box to address problems and deficiencies in all facets of American life is an important part of the solution going forward, as it has been in the past. In recent decades we emerged from a history of explicitly and implicitly denying the vote to communities of color and young people only to see a retrenchment of voter suppression aimed at many of the same communities. Change will come with protest but also by changing the people elected that make decisions about our communities including criminal justice, policing, housing, education, job opportunities, environmental justice, and more.
