The NAACP Virginia State Conference (Virginia NAACP) will host the 2023 Voting Rights Symposium entitled Let My People Vote!. The 2023 Voting Rights Symposium will be held virtually on Saturday, August 19, 2023, from 9 am to Noon. The Virginia NAACP has partnered with the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. – Richmond Section, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Richmond Metropolitan Area Chapter, the Urban League Young Professionals, the League of Women Voters, and NCBCP/ Black Women’s Roundtable- Virginia.
The featured speaker for Let My People Vote! will be Leon W. Russell, Chair of the NAACP Board of Directors. Mr. Russell, a native Virginian who has dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and has served on the National Board of Directors since 1990 in various roles, including Assistant Secretary, Chair of the Convention Planning Committee, and Vice Chair. His peers recognized his decades of work and leadership when they elected him as chair in 2017. The symposium will also include two panel discussions entitled Protecting Our Vote moderated by Gaylene Kanoyton, Chair of Virginia NAACP Political Action Committee, and The Path to Victory moderated by Tyee Mallory, Virginia NAACP Legislative Coordinator and Senior Political Advisor. The symposium will also serve as the kick-off for our 2023 Election Mobilization.
“In 2023, twenty bills were introduced to restrict or limit absentee voting, an attempt to roll back progress. Virginians cannot be silent on voting. The process for restoring voting rights to returning citizens is now harder. Virginians cannot be silent on disenfranchisement.,” said Robert Barnette, President of the Virginia State Conference. “This symposium will prepare Black Virginians to get out to vote by taking advantage of early voting and preparing our communities for victory in this election.”
Who: Leon W. Russell, Chair, NAACP Board of Directors
Robert N. Barnette, Jr, President, Virginia NAACP
Bobby Scott, United States Representative, 3rd District of Virginia
Tanya Clay House, Executive Vice President, Campaigns and Advocacy, Hip Hop Caucus
Stephanie A. Owens, NAACP National Grassroots Election Protection Project Manager
Ryan Snow, Counsel, Voting Rights Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Tyler Sterling, NAACP National Mobilization Director, Campaigns Civic Engagement
Dominik Whitehead, NAACP Vice President of Campaigns Civic Engagement
When: Saturday, August 19, 2023, 9 – Noon
Where: To attend the 2023 Voting Rights Symposium, please register by completing the form here.
The Virginia NAACP is committed to the mission to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.