ICYMI: DNC Launches HBCU Organizing Push Ahead of November Elections Arrow

Key Point: "The DNC plans to execute a range of activations this HBCU homecoming season, including handing out 'Commit to Vote (CTV)' cards, 'Get out the Vote (GOTV)' volunteer sign-up forms, DNC-branded charging stations, 'We Stand With HBCUs' paraphernalia, and photo booths. DNC officials and surrogates will also canvass along homecoming parade routes, tailgates, and block parties."

TheGrio: DNC Comes to HBCUs This Homecoming Season in an Effort to Earn Back Trust of Black Voters

By:Gerren Keith Gaynor

• The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is taking its party message to HBCU campuses this homecoming season in an effort to engage young Black voters, whose support for the Democratic Party waned in the 2024 election.

• The DNC confirmed with theGrio that throughout October, several activations will be held at the campuses of Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Cheney University, and Lincoln University. The five-figure investments of HBCU engagements are intended to reach students, parents, and alumni.

• "Homecoming is about culture, community, and credibility, so our presence at these events is absolutely critical. But it's not just political, it's personal for all those students, the family that comes out," DNC Chairman Ken Martin told theGrio about the upcoming HBCU campus activations.

• "We're showing up where it matters to Black voters, not just in presidential years," said Martin, a former chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, who was elected DNC chair in February.

• He explained, "When I came in as DNC chair, I said we cannot make the same mistakes we've made in the past of just showing up three months before an election and starting the conversation for the very first time. And that's part of the reason we've lost trust with so many parts of our coalition, including the Black community."

• The DNC plans to execute a range of activations this HBCU homecoming season, including handing out "Commit to Vote (CTV)" cards, "Get out the Vote (GOTV)" volunteer sign-up forms, DNC-branded charging stations, "We Stand With HBCUs" paraphernalia, and photo booths. DNC officials and surrogates will also canvass along homecoming parade routes, tailgates, and block parties.

• In Virginia, a purple state, DNC activations at Hampton, Norfolk, and Virginia State also coincide with early voting on Oct. 25 in the state, which will elect its next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, Virginia House of Delegates and local offices.

• Acknowledging the particular importance of focusing on the needs of young Black men, the DNC chairman told theGrio, "We gotta give people a sense that the Democratic Party believes, as I do, that no matter where you're from, no matter where you live, no matter who you love or who you are, that you deserve a chance and an opportunity to get ahead."

• Martin continued, "The rhetoric and the statements and the actions coming out of this White House and the administration have done nothing to actually bring us together as Americans, but only continue to divide us and to continue to allow the hate that we've seen throughout this country."

• "Donald Trump has made a lot of promises to Black voters. He's made a lot of promises to voters around this country, and he's delivered on almost none of them," said the Democratic leader … Martin said Democrats are going to continue to "call him out," adding, "At a time when so many people are struggling to get by in this country, he continues to play games like this."