Oprah Winfrey has launched a powerful #OWNYourVote campaign geared toward Black women, kicking off a series of events and actions in the run-up to the critical elections in November and beyond with a powerful video.
The video is a montage of images of women from civil rights movement history; women taking to the streets; and women marching and standing with family. It includes shots of “Mothers of the Movement” like Sybrina Fulton, and Black elected officials like Maxine Waters, Kamala Harris, Lucy McBath, Karen Bass, and Val Demings.
OWN YOUR VOTE is committed to a bipartisan, pro-social campaign of actions and events for and with Black women, connecting them to urgent political actions, giving their concerns a powerful microphone, and placing a spotlight on key community issues
Coverage of the announcement in The Root included an article titled “Naturally, the Oprah Winfrey Network Wants You to #OWNYourVote, Launches Voting Initiative for Black Women,” which details the impressive coalition that Oprah has brought together to make this happen:
OWN is partnering on the campaign with national and local organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Action Network (NAN), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Color of Change, Advancement Project, Fair Fight Action, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Black Women’s Roundtable, The National Urban League, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, The Links, Incorporated, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Woke Vote, Higher Heights Leadership Fund, When We All Vote, Sistahs in Business Expo, Vote.org, The King Center, and more to come. Target markets for the initiative include the key battleground states with a high concentration of OWN viewers including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, and Ohio.
Every vote is critical. Black women, who have been the backbone of political struggle for decades, will be key in the days ahead if we are serious about making change. Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful Black women in the world, and I’m elated to see her putting her considerable resources to work to help make that happen.
Thank you, Oprah.