Second Lining to the Polls for Super Tuesday!

This past Tuesday, November 7, 2023, the NAACP organized “Super Tuesday,” a school-wide Second Line parade to get young black minds around the campus excited to get to the polls during this early voting period. This was all a part of their Votecoming campaign all week to influence young black voters to make a change and get to the polls. The parade would go from the Union, down to T.T. Allain Hall, wrapping around to make its way back to the Union. A crowd of people joined in the parade to help the cause by raising banners saying, “Black Votes Matter.” As the crowd chanted in excitement, The Zulu, accompanied by the Second Line band, danced around to funky New Orleans-style music the whole time. The joyful music and sounds of the party could be heard from Mumford Stadium.
Maykayla Crutchfield (Sophomore, Elementary Education), one of the many NAACP members within the crowd that evening, shared the thought process behind not only the Second Line Parade but Votecoming in general and how it would get young voters, especially young black voters, to the polls to be heard. “It kind of puts a fun twist on voting and gets people excited to vote.” She would also add, “Voting is very important (to the black community). I always say you can’t make change if you don’t be the change… We as black children, we’re going to have to keep voting and keep fighting for what we want. In order to do that you have to go out and vote. Just commit to the cause.”
Another NAACP member, Brian Baptiste (Senior, Biology Pre-med), also shared his thoughts on how important it is for black people, especially young black people, to go out to the polls and vote. “We always say we want a better university; we want a better this. But we have to start by actually stating what we want and being able to change and be the change that we want. We can’t just say we want something and not put in any work.” The NAACP and their efforts, among other factors, have led to great voter turnout over the years, and they plan to not only keep it that way but also expand upon it.
In 2018, black voters had an extremely high 51% voter turnout, higher than both Asian and Latino turnout rates which sat around 40%. As of 2022, over 7 out of 10 black individuals are eligible to vote in the United States of America. When asked about the potential impact projects like Super Tuesday or Votecoming by the NAACP can have on the black community, Christopher Williams (Sophomore, Business Management) said, “Huge. It’s time for young people like me to have their voices heard. A lot of us have been on the sideline for much too long. The time for change in our communities is now, and the best way to bring that change is to go to the polls and vote for it.”