NEW YORK, NY – The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action
Network (NAN), brought together the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Joyce Beatty, Korey Wise and New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam of the Central Park 5 for a voter activation tour in Columbus, Ohio. The visit through the heart of the state is the second leg of NAN’s non-partisan Get Out the Vote campaign, following a bus trip to Philadelphia last month.
“NAN made a commitment to ensure eligible Black voters, who are expected to make up a
significant portion of the electorate this November, know where both candidates stand on key issues impacting their communities,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of NAN. “We brought together the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congress Member Beatty and members of the Central Park 5 to drive home what is at stake in this election. If Black Americans vote by Nov. 5, we will not only preserve the hard-won rights at risk but also move us closer to expanding them.”
Black Americans will account for 14% of eligible voters by Nov. 5, representing an increase
from four years ago. This crucial voting bloc sent a powerful message down the ballot in 2020, following the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. However, many rights and policies impacting Black Americans have since been clawed back, largely due to the Supreme Court, which has included the body’s rulings that limited access to reproductive health, higher education and debt relief.
NAN’s GOTV tour stressed that more rights are at risk if Black voters don’t make their voice
heard by Nov. 5. The Rev. Sharpton continued to deliver a report on where both Presidential candidates stand on key issues such as criminal justice, health equity and economic opportunity.
Wise and Salaam shared their personal experiences as teenagers, when Donald Trump called for their execution as they were wrongfully convicted. Trump has refused to apologize even two decades after all members of the Central Park 5 were exonerated.
NAN’s tour first stopped at Trinity Baptist Church, where the Rev. Sharpton was joined by the Rev. Jackson, whom he served as youth director for as a teenager before advising his 1984 and 1988 Presidential runs. Rep. Joyce Beatty joined the tour in a Get Out the Vote rally at Columbus State Community College in Delaware, Ohio.
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the nation with
chapters throughout the United States. Founded in 1991 by the Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN
works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender.
For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.
