It is Time to Vote! Our Lives Depend on it!

BALTIMORE, MD – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America’s foremost civil rights organization, hosted a strategic convening for its Civic Engagement #TurnOut18 leadership team during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.

Vote! Our Lives Depend On It!
The NAACP brought together staff, state directors and advisors to execute a #TurnOut18 campaign aimed at registering Black voters across six tier 1 states to ensure that they make it to the polls. “Black voters have the collective power to shift the political landscape in critical states across the country. To effectuate our political capital we must vote! Our lives depend on it,” said Jamal Watkins, NAACP Vice President of Civic Engagement.

To help lead this campaign, the NAACP has named Sheila E. Isong it’s new National Political Director for Civic Engagement. Sheila E. Isong joins the NAACP from the Victory Institute, where she served as the Director of Domestic Programs, training and cultivating political leadership across the country. Previously, she served as a Policy and Campaigns Manager at the Center for American Progress, where she managed a criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention and voting rights portfolio.

“I’m excited to be working in Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida with such accomplished, experienced and talented State Directors and Advisors. We all have one goal: turn out the Black vote in the 2018 election. Everyone must vote! Our lives depend on it,” said Sheila E. Isong.

Six Tier 1 States
To drive the NAACP #TurnOut18 efforts:
Tracy Maxwell Heard will serve as the Ohio State Director.
William Mondale Robinson will serve as the North Carolina State Director.
Joel Alvarado will serve as the Georgia State Director.
William Dunbar will serve as the Pennsylvania State Director.

In an effort to organize across all six states, the NAACP has convened the following senior advisors: Andrea Strader, Shavon Arline-Bradley, Dr. Zina Pierre, Jasmine Burney-Clark and Jamaa Bickley-King. The six tier one states consist of Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida.