Color of
Change
PAC
holds
leadership
training
focused
on black
voters Tell
Us
Detroit
DETROIT
- A
racial
justice
group’s
political
action
committee
plans to
hold
leadership
training
in
Detroit
focused
on black
voters.
The
Color of
Change
PAC says
organizers
met with
about
200
black
activists
and
organizers
from
across
Michigan.
Participants
in the
training
and
other
volunteers
also
knocked
on the
doors of
about
5,000
homes on
Sunday
in
Detroit.
The
training
is part
of its
#VotingWhileBlack
campaign
which is
intended
to
mobilize
black
voters
to cast
ballots
this
year in
critical
local,
state
and
national
elections.
“Creating
a PAC
was a
priority
for us
in 2016
because
far too
often
politicians
spend
millions
of
dollars
catering
to Black
voters
and
getting
Black
people
to vote.
Then
once we
vote,
they are
no
longer
held
accountable
to us,”
explained
Jennifer
Edwards,
Color of
Change
PAC’s
Electoral
Communications
Program
Director.
“We
really
felt the
need to
create
something
that was
led by a
Black
staff—a
leadership
team who
built
this
structure
and
program
from the
ground
up to
empower
Black
people
to do
more.
Not just
for
election
day and
not just
for
presidential
candidates.”
“Far
too
often,
Black
people
and
other
people
of color
aren’t
aware
that
these
races
even
exist,”
Edwards
said.
“These
corrupt
incumbents
that run
unopposed
almost
always
think
that
there is
no one
there to
challenge
them.”
Following
involvement
in those
local
elections,
the PAC
had the
opportunity
to test
its
activist
platform
in
texting
voters
regarding
the
presidential
race and
a few
congressional
races in
swing
states
such as
Pennsylvania,
Ohio,
Florida
and
North
Carolina.
“We
launched
the
textathon
program
in
September
2016 and
coordinated
events
in 11
different
cities
from
September
through
Election
Day. We
did
events
regularly
in New
York,
DC,
Oakland,
Atlanta,
Los
Angeles,
and a
few in
Chicago.”