Choose a Cause The first step is to educate yourself on the issues. Clarify what issues matter to you and your family? The next step is to research the candidates and political parities to see where they land on your issues. This will inform how you activate from there. Volunteer Running a campaign is a lot of work-for at least 6-15 months, it can be a full time job. Volunteers are a valuable support system to a political candidate-especially those operating on a shoe-string budget. Volunteers help make calls to voters, canvass neighborhoods, help table at events, perform data entry, and then some. This is also a great way to see the candidate up close and personal. You’ll learn a lot about the issues, their values, and you’ll learn a lot about the process. Not to mention, it’s great on your resume! Donate Campaigns costs money to be effective. Lawn signs, food, printed mailers, paid campaign staff, all cost money. Small campaigns are especially dependent on campaign donations. Consider donating to your candidate. Trust us, they appreciate ANY amount you can give. VOTE At the very least, be sure to cast your vote on Election Day! Elections have been won-and lost-with as little as 5-10 votes. Don’t believe the rhetoric; every-single-vote-absolutely-matters!

Lobby Follow the issues you identified that matter to you. Support issue-based advocacy groups i.e. NAACP, ACLU, Teachers of Color, Restore the Vote, etc. Show up at the State Capitol for rallies, sign petitions, call your legislators and let them know how you feel about an issue and their position on it. Many legislators say they don’t hear from their constituents, but if they did, they would be responsive. Some are not always receptive, but many are…if you show up. Attend Government Meetings Look up your city’s website to see the meeting calendar and decide what meeting you will attend. Or, if you get a notice in the mail about a public meeting, make it a point to attend. Most, if not all, government meetings are open to the public. There is usually a period for public comment, too. This is a great opportunity to see your tax dollars at work! Not to mention, you learn the process and see how they arrive at decisions. From there you can decide how you want to engage. Don’t forget, your neighborhood association, school board, PTA, etc, are also forms of government with opportunities for you to deepen your civic participation. Call Your Representatives Most public officials have newsletters, community meetings or ‘public office hours’, etc. Attend these smaller intimate conversations to learn more about your representative, and maybe even pick their brain about issues. Voting and civic engagement is not new to us. It is an integral part of our heritage. Back in the day, our parents and grandparents supported campaigns by voting, holding bake sales, and other fundraisers, for their chosen candidates. Today, babysitting, driving voters to polls, sharing candidate events on Facebook, rallying your friends and family to vote-all count as civic engagement. If you are 50 and younger, it’s time to start assuming that role. The truth is, whether you feel political or not, your very being and Blackness is political. Political decisions are being made everyday that affect you-with or without you. The more you become involved now-on a consistent basis-the less you have to protest later.