NAACP chapter rallies students to vote

January 25, 2024

By Arrington Jones, Staff Writer

It’s a presidential election year. And with many civil rights laws continuing to be stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court, Xavier students are working to raise awareness that voting is crucial.

Xavier’s chapter of the NAACP wants more college students to participate in shaping the direction of the country, ensuring that their voices are heard. The chapter explored this issue at the “Who’s Who?” political panel on Jan. 25 in the University Center.

“We want more students to gain political knowledge,” said Keziah Smith, a sophomore, political science major, who is also the NAACP chapter treasurer.

“For a lot of us, it is going to be our first time voting in a presidential election, actually for a good majority of us. That’s what this situation is going to be. So being very knowledgeable about who’s running, what to look forward to on the ballot, how to read a ballot, and how to register to vote are important,” Smith added.

The panel featured Morgan Shannon, the director of Strategic Partnerships, with the Power Coalition for Equality and Justice, which represents community groups, giving them a voice in decision-making and politics.

“We work to activate power in black communities. We do this through a lot of different ways. We do this through your traditional electoral organizing, voter registration, education, and mobilization,” Shannon said.

“We got a second black district here in Louisiana,” she added to applause from the students.

Students asked about the impact of third-party voting and how effective it is, voting in Louisiana, abortion rights, the choice of Trump versus Biden, and how the last election made them feel.

“There were already high racial tensions in St Louis and Trump gave a voice to people who were racist
and have no shame. He was saying what they were all thinking. Because of Trump, going about politics in that way is okay to them. We are becoming a joke around the world because of how scary and insane politics is going,” Smith said.

The members of the NAACP chapter and Shannon directed students to the ways they can vote or get more information. Information can come from many sources including the Power Collation, and organization ballots that indicate where different candidates stand on various issues. The NAACP chapter here is also working to register students to vote.

“As upcoming leaders in this country, we need to be able to make well-informed decisions about who we want in local, state, and federal positions. After all, if we want to see a change, we
must be change-makers,” said Sadé Boyd, a senior, political science major from Memphis.