Genesis Robinson, interim Executive Director of Equal Ground, discusses the Florida legislative session during a voter education event at Friendship Baptist Church in Fort Myers on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
May 25, 2024 Story by: Editor
A Black-led, non-partisan nonprofit focused on enhancing Black political influence in Florida visited Lee County on Saturday as part of a statewide voter education and mobilization initiative.
Equal Ground is working to counteract extremist legislation in the state and ensure Black Floridians understand their rights and how to effectively participate in the upcoming elections.
Genesis Robinson, interim executive director of Equal Ground, elaborated on the group’s mission:
“We’re traveling the entire state of Florida to educate voters about what took place during Florida’s legislative session. But most importantly, to prepare for the upcoming election cycle here in August for the primary as well as in November for the general election.”
To further its cause, the group is collaborating with various religious, political, and community organizations. In Lee County, these partners included Friendship Baptist Church, League Of Women Voters of Lee County, the Fort Myers Alumnae Chapter-Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Fort Myers NAACP.
Equal Ground officials emphasized the importance of educating voters on newly updated vote-by-mail requirements, voter re-enrollment instructions, ballot issues, and actions that engaged citizens can take to boost voter turnout among those affected by these changes.
Robinson highlighted the importance of this initiative:
“The reality is not everybody can pay attention to that process in real-time,” Robinson said. “And so us being able to break it down, bring it directly to the various communities throughout the state was something that was important to us to be able to educate folks around what has taken place.”
He noted that while some legislation benefits Floridians, other bills are not in their best interest.
“And so, us being able to tell them about that, to let them know about changes to law, and then also to get election ready, was very important to us as an organization.”
Robinson reported that their efforts are yielding positive results.
“We believe that we’ve had a tremendous impact in helping to increase Black engagement within the civic engagement space. … We’ve seen the results of that. We’ve seen evidence of that. We were able to bring over 300 Black people to the state of Florida to walk the halls of the legislature to go to meetings to have protests and rallies on the steps of the Capitol. We’re proud of that impact. But most importantly, we hope that it translates into public policy, translates into us being able to elect candidates who share our values.” Source: WGCU
He affirmed Equal Ground’s long-term commitment to increasing voting access.
Angelette Arias, president of the local alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority involved in the effort, stressed the importance of their participation:
“My sorority advocates for social justice and social action and helping all people get registered to vote. And we have a very important election coming up in 2024,” she said. “The most important issue is all the bills that are being voted on during the session. Our members of the community have to pay attention to legislative session when they’re in session, and what bills are being introduced. It doesn’t matter what your party is, it’s the issue that’s on the bill.”
Arias underscored the critical need for education on the political and legislative processes and the significance of understanding important bills.
