WATCH: Paint the Polls Black with Girls United and Lynae Vanee
In 2024, we are confronting a major election year with history and the rights of marginalized communities on the ballot. The disparities that Black and Brown people confront in this country are significant and growing from housing and employment to access to health care and access to capital. The Sundial Group of Companies which includes ESSENCE, the Global Black Economic Forum, Girls United, AfroPunk, BeautyCon and New Voices Foundation are coming together, along with our partners, to mobilize and ensure that we educate, mobilize and register voters to take action this November and into the future.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here. As Alfonso has mentioned, we will really be
00:08getting into the topic of how young voters can really mobilize in this election to really
00:14speak to issues. So without further ado, I would like to introduce everybody to a very
00:20special guest that we have. And that will be Lene Benit. How are you?
00:27Hey, everybody. How's it going? It's been a long day, but I'm good.
00:31A long day it has been, but we're excited to have you here and excited to really get
00:36into it. So with that being said, just wanted to really just understand you being from Spelman
00:44and going to Spelman and also Boston University, what has it been like being in the field that
00:54you're in and really mobilizing young voters to vote?
01:00You know, I think I got my first degree in psychology from Spelman College. And there
01:06you learn that kids have the opportunity or young people have the opportunity to glean
01:10a lot from the environment around them. And they're really perceptible and absorb things
01:14like a sponge. And so it has not been difficult communicating with young people. I think 2020
01:20brought us a lot of heartache, but it also brought us a catalyst for people to really
01:24be engaged and interested in the discourse surrounding black people's rights and opportunity
01:28and the way we engage politically. So the ground has been set and this election season
01:34is no different. There is air that keeps fanning the flames of young people getting ignited,
01:41wanting to be out there and wanting to be involved. So it's been very interesting to
01:44see a lot of young people take the lead. A lot of young people have voices larger than
01:48mine. You know, I think I get coined as like a voice that can speak directly to Gen Z.
01:53I'm a millennial, so I just try my best to make things as like down to earth as I possibly
01:57can to bring everybody to the table. But young people are really out here radicalized in
02:02a way that I never expected to see. And I kind of bring up an example. Quite often when
02:07I was a high school teacher, my kids used to ask me, did I ever think there could be
02:10another civil rights movement? And I would tell them no. I would tell them that I think
02:14that as a community, we are too individualized. We are too siloed and separated to understand
02:20one another's needs enough to come to the table. But I never expected to see anything
02:24like what I'm seeing right now. So my hat goes off to young people, and I'm just grateful
02:28to be in community with young people and learning from them as well in this work, because I
02:33have degrees in psychology and African American studies. And if you had asked me when I started
02:37this in 2020, I would not have assumed I'd be anywhere near politics. But that's kind
02:41of the last thing I'll say to answer this question. It is my love for Black history
02:45and my deep study of it that revealed to me that Black history does not exist without
02:51Black political action. Every single thing that we've done from the Agency of Enslaved
02:54People to outright televised revolutions and movements have all been political acts. So
03:02yeah, it only makes sense that we're here.
03:05That's wonderful. So I think based on the previous conversation, which was incredibly
03:10insightful, we can really think about voting not only as a part of civic engagement, but
03:16also almost as though it is a civic duty, also a right that was fought for by so many
03:21of the people who came before us. So when we're discussing Gen Z and the importance
03:26of the youth in the Gen Z vote, what are some of the things that you've learned about how
03:31Gen Z engages politically, and how you've been able to encourage certain people who
03:37have had questions about interacting politically, how to become politically active, how to find
03:43their political identity, and to just really forge their path as a political person looking
03:49to engage?
03:51Yeah. So the internet, point blank and simple, and apps, and I'm sorry, social media apps
04:00is really how young people are engaging. Interestingly enough, when we found out that Joe Biden would
04:07be stepping down and Kamala Harris would be taking the endorsement, or was getting
04:11the endorsement, rather, that week, I saw so many young people, and interestingly enough
04:16as well, young white people hosting lives incessantly. I get on TikTok maybe once or
04:22twice a day, but throughout the week, I would see the same young people creators on live
04:25doing a lot of the work to sort of argue folks down. So young people are arming themselves
04:30with information to be able to come into public spaces where a lot of rhetoric is spewed to
04:35share the facts. I think young people are really interested in engaging in this combat
04:40against mis- and disinformation in a real way. So I'm really interested to see the way
04:46that this morphs and flows, but what I'm also seeing is a lot of organizations wanting to
04:52provide resources to meet that enthusiasm of young people. So I've been blessed to engage
04:57with this organization called Fair Fight and consulting on how they should be connecting
05:01with communities on social media, and they're providing a lot of resources, not just to
05:06myself, but just to the general public. And they enlighten me on quite a few ways people
05:10can get involved with voting, and I think they're really important. And again, I think
05:15we have such enthusiasm, I keep using that word because we just haven't had motivation
05:18like this in a long time. Like people from your grandmas, your aunties, down to the very
05:24young people wanting to have a voice in how we are voicing, wanting to have a voice in
05:29how we are voicing our concerns for this election. So I wanted to just kind of go through a couple
05:33of what those things were. I think when people think about volunteering around election,
05:38they think about going door-to-door to knock and get people to register to vote. You can
05:42absolutely do that, but something that was completely new to me was the whole idea of
05:47voter protection opportunities and volunteer roles. And so you have things like poll watchers,
05:52and these are people who are making sure that processes are being done as they need to be
06:00done, that there's no funny business. And after the last election that we have, we need people
06:04in those rooms to be doing those things. And you can be partisan or nonpartisan, it does not
06:08matter your affiliation. And really for all of these, it doesn't matter your affiliation,
06:12it just gives you an opportunity to be in the room. Before I go down the rest of the list,
06:16I just think that's the most important thing for us to consider here. The online space is a great
06:21space for discourse. We need to be in rooms where people making decisions can hear those voices and
06:27feel that sort of tension, feel that sort of pressure in ways. I'm a huge advocate,
06:32I won't say too much, but I don't want to see us give any more of our bodies or our blood.
06:37We can vote, we can use the power of our vote to make moves and make ways, and we've yet to use
06:41the full extent of our vote. So I need us in the rooms to actually apply that sort of pressure
06:47in legal ways. And there are so many legal ways to apply that pressure that we've not gotten into
06:51because we are angry. And there's nothing wrong with us being angry, but what I see is an amazing
06:56opportunity. A Congresswoman in the last segment said that we are in a historical moment, and it's
07:00not just because we have the potential to elect the first black woman president, it's because we
07:05as a nation have created or engaged in this nexus event to literally take the social contract theory
07:12back. And I know I'm supposed to be going down the list, but I'm... You're definitely getting into it.
07:21What you've really talked about has been social media, right? And really utilizing that to our
07:26advantage so that we're not putting our bodies on the line anymore. Can you give a little bit
07:30of context into how your series Parking Lot Pimpin' really came about and how that has been
07:38a response or has been spread across social media to really inform people?
07:45Yeah, I think, like I said, I saw a desire and a need for the content and people actually wanting
07:52to hear more. When I was that high school teacher, I would teach upperclassmen, 11th and 12th graders,
07:58and so I had kids come into my classroom every semester just thinking they were going to take
08:02a freebie class because they thought they knew everything there was to possibly know about black
08:07history because they've been taught the same things over and over and over again through their
08:1112 years of education. And so in this moment where we're also getting the opportunity to
08:16legitimize and formalize African American history in schools, we're also seeing that being attacked.
08:21So anyway, back to where I started, I actually went on a Juneteenth march with some organizations
08:28in my community. And that moment that I thought that I would never see, that I was telling my
08:33kids I don't think it's possible, I felt downtown Atlanta marching to the Capitol and not just my
08:38organization was out that day, but so many hundreds of thousands of people were coating
08:43the streets and having an amazing time and so many different people of so many different colors. And
08:48you had folks with signs talking about or referencing cultural connection points and
08:53movements for freedom and organizations between black and Latinos, black and Asians, black and
08:59white folk, had people making sandwiches. This was COVID times. You had people with medic packs and
09:03masks and people wearing gloves and being mindful. And so anyway, I went and sat in my parking lot
09:08because I felt like everything I prepared myself for, all the black history Bs and going to get
09:13that MA that nobody told me I was going to be able to use outside of being a professor.
09:18I wanted to share that with the world in a way that was fun, in a way that met that sort of
09:23desire with something that didn't feel like it was stuffing it down their throat. And it wasn't
09:28just me. I actually remember when I was getting started figuring out how I wanted to do mine,
09:32I was inspired by people like Consciously. I would see folks like, I ain't gonna name a bunch
09:37of names, but I saw a bunch of creators on the internet. And whether I fully agreed with their
09:42perspectives or their approaches or not, I found space for myself in that and connected directly
09:48with the community that was looking to hear those things. So that's how I got started. And that's how
09:53it stuck that people wanted it. And they wanted to share it.
09:56That's amazing. So I think you've discussed how you've been able to build up quite a bit of a
10:02social media following and to get young people engaged in the content that you produce,
10:07and to really be able to create a message behind the content that you've produced.
10:13You were going through a list of different ways that people can become involved in the
10:18political process that are just not the typical way that you would think about it. Though earlier
10:23this week, I watched a video of yours where you were discussing this, where you were talking about
10:27ways that people can become involved in the political process. And I'm going to let you
10:31go down that list, but I just want to call out that this is something that can be super useful
10:36to people who may not be able to vote. Whether that be for whatever reason that is, maybe you're
10:41not old enough to vote yet. Maybe you have some sort of other reason that you're not able to vote.
10:47But just letting you know that there are so many ways for people to be involved in the political
10:53process, even if you are not able to vote in this election. So whether you're not 18 yet,
10:59and you really want to be involved in the political process because you will become an adult
11:03under this political term, or you're not a citizen, whatever the case may be,
11:09what Linnea is about to describe are different ways that you can become involved in this process.
11:14And for the people who are voting, these are ways that you can become even more involved and learn
11:18a lot more about the political process. So yeah, I would love for you to continue to discuss some
11:24of the ways that people can become more involved. Okay, great. So we already went over a poll
11:29watcher, and I told you these are people who are making sure the process of voting from the folks
11:34who are tasked with taking your identification and giving you your ballot and all the things,
11:40and making sure all of these things are done by the book, that there's no funny business
11:44happening. You also have poll observers, who are folks who are making sure people who are
11:48engaging in the voting process, how close they are to one another, making sure that they are
11:54doing what they are supposed to do as far as protecting the privacy of every voter.
11:58You got hotline volunteers, and these people are really important for community,
12:02especially because all of us have so many questions around voting. So hotline volunteers
12:08are based and provided for community to be able to call in and ask questions about
12:15where their precinct is, the hours you have to vote, the earliest that you can vote,
12:19maybe some rules around what you can and cannot bring to the voting precinct, and just some things
12:23that you should be aware of. Story collection, which I think a lot of young people would be
12:28interested in. Story collection just involves talking to people about their experience with
12:33voting. And I want to be clear that nothing that anyone on this entire call today is offering,
12:41nothing we're offering you is perfect. Nothing we're offering you is scot-free or the epitome
12:47of democracy. We're here fighting for it. We're here fighting for the opportunity to make it
12:51something all of us feel good about engaging in. So story collection allows for us to record
12:57critiques. It allows us to see what community wants from the voting process. And I feel like
13:02a lot of folks, young people with their phones in their hands, we could do this anyway. It would be
13:06an amazing thing to see us trading stories like this. But it's important to be connected to
13:10community organizations that have networks and are platforming those networks to make that
13:15information accessible to people who do not have social media. And I know you think that everybody
13:20has it, but everybody doesn't. And this information is so important for people who need to get it or
13:26access it off of the phones, off of the timeline. Maybe their algorithm just might not show them
13:29something that is super important for their ears to hear. So story collection, I think is a very
13:34beautiful way to volunteer. And I think directly connects with younger audiences and how they want
13:39to be engaged. But here are two things that I think we need to engage in in droves. As I said on my
13:46video last week, whenever I did it, board of election volunteers and state election board
13:52volunteers. In order to volunteer, what your job description would be is to go attend these
14:00meetings. You can see what their agendas are online the night before. I'm reading to make
14:08sure that I'm not saying anything incorrectly, but you can basically register to make public comment
14:14and go into these rooms and discuss the benefits of certain goings on for certain voters and then
14:22the cons of certain goings on for voters. And what I mean by that is these board of elections
14:27are the people who get to make decisions about they can't drink water in line. They can't do
14:33this as any other. They can't sit in a chair. So a lot of these things are also being, a lot of this
14:40is voter suppression under the covert nature of policy, the covert umbrella of policy. And by
14:45going to these meetings, you can suss out exactly what's being done to try to circumvent your
14:50community from having an active voice in voting. And you can take it back home. You can take it
14:55back to your neighborhoods. You can take it to the trap houses, like Congressman Jasmine Crockett
15:00was just talking about. I've been seeing this amazing pastor, Pastor Redonis Bryan here in
15:05Atlanta, going and talking to people who look exactly like him. And granted, he's a pastor,
15:09so he's ministering, but he's doing the type of work that I need to see all of us doing.
15:13And that's engaging people you don't think would engage because every single vote counts. So by
15:17going to these meetings, you get all the tools that you need. You can also share this, like I
15:21said, with the organizations that have platform like Fair Fight to be able to make this information
15:25widely accessible to folks. But these are some of the biggest rooms to be in. So I definitely
15:30suggest board of election volunteering and state election board volunteering and being what's
15:34called a pro voter voice. And then the last thing is a poll worker. These are the people who actually
15:39sign up to staff the polls. But yeah, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. I just went through the list,
15:44Fair Fight Action, and I'm sorry, Fair Fight as well as Let's Freaking Go Volunteer has all this
15:52information on their site and you can assign it by state. So yeah, for sure. But as an Atlantan
15:58who knows what it's like for my voting rights to be decided upon behind closed doors,
16:05yeah, scared, shaking, not really trying to engage. I'm so excited to learn about
16:13opportunities like this because it lets me know that I don't just have to sit with my hands,
16:17sitting on my hands. And that's one of the biggest, most important things. If you do not vote,
16:22I understand, again, none of this is perfect. None of these, in a nonpartisan way of speaking,
16:28none of these candidates are exactly perfectly what we want, what everyone wants. You cannot
16:33make everybody happy. But if we do not vote, we cannot be engaged. And I'm not just asking you to
16:39vote for primary. I'm asking you to vote down ballot. So again, we can get the House, we can
16:43get the Senate. I'm also asking you to vote in your local elections, down to the sheriff, down
16:48to the councilwoman and all the things. Yeah. Yeah. And it's an important habit to pick up.
16:56If you start voting at a young age, you tend to continue to vote as you get older.
17:01So it's good to start voting as soon as you can so that you can continue to stay civically engaged.
17:08Amen. Yeah. And there's a lot of issues at stake and some of the issues that we're seeing Gen Z
17:15really take up and really coming to the polls concerned about is cost of living, gun reform,
17:24job wages, racism, and student debt, all reflective of these past couple of years that we've had. And
17:33it just shows how much is really at stake, especially with the attacks on DEI,
17:41on affirmative action. And times are really scary. What we're really categorizing this election as
17:48is an attack on democracy. And so Gen Z, this is what the future looks like for us. So
17:57there's a lot of concern there. There's not an understanding of what that future will look like.
18:03And the fact that we have an active role to play in making sure that we are ensuring our future
18:10is important. So everything that you've mapped out is super important. So what are ways that
18:16even people that can't vote, people that are not eligible to vote, what can they do? What can
18:24they also bring to the table as well? I think, so a lot of things that I just mentioned,
18:30you can engage in whether you can register to vote or not. And I think it's important
18:33that you still do that. I think it's important that you still remain in the conversation. And
18:37one of the biggest gaps that I'm seeing is the chasm between the rhetoric that is being spewed
18:47within community online and what we do when we go to the polls. So even if you can't vote,
18:53something that I'm encouraging a lot of people to do is recognize that a lot of rhetoric that
18:58we are falling victim to and vulnerable to that is anti-community is actually preventing us from
19:02moving forward in a strategic and unified way. I'm doing my best to develop opportunity and
19:08programming to go into community and have these conversations like focus groups with
19:13black men, women, queer folk, they, them, young, old, to talk about what we need to see from one
19:18another to feel protected. And I feel like that is like step one. That's step one. And we're
19:23trying to do both at the same time because unfortunately we're in a game of catch up.
19:27But if you cannot vote, and for whatever reason you cannot vote, and I'm specifically thinking
19:31about maybe offenders who have had their right to vote taken away, being in community with people
19:36who are actively engaged in voting helps them to think about what they can do to protect themselves
19:42helps them to continue to remember to think of you. We're only going to move forward if we're
19:46in community. And so yes, it is on us to make sure that we are aware of our community's needs,
19:51but we have to sit at the table together in order for everyone's needs to be
19:57on the whiteboard. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Having the conversations, building community,
20:05being aware of what other community members are in need of, what their concerns may be,
20:11how things that Rochelle just listed out may impact them differently,
20:17and how all of us can exercise our vote to be as beneficial as possible is, I think,
20:29all we can do and all we can hope for. We are so happy that we were able to have you,
20:36Lynnae. Anything else that you would like to share with the audience?
20:45It sounds cliche, and I feel like, unfortunately, we've said a lot of these things without
20:50the sort of organization and activation necessary to really see them through, to make them real,
20:57but you cannot have a voice if you do not vote. You simply cannot. I hate to say it. I hope it
21:02don't sound ridiculous. I wish there is more that you can do, and we've sort of named so many things
21:08surrounding voting, but that is the key to, as I said earlier, us taking the social contract
21:14theory back. Our government was designed to protect the people, and in return, the people
21:17were supposed to empower the government, and we've seen over and over again, it counts this time,
21:21whether in our states or whether in this country, nationally, we have asked for things from our
21:27government that we have not received. We have been ignored blatantly, and so we have to engage
21:34even further to push back. Yeah, and what a great way to end everything that you're saying.
21:44We've got to get to the polls and do what we need to do. I do want to encourage the audience
21:49also to submit their questions, and we will be answering them very shortly.
21:54Linnea, thank you so much for being on with us.