Black Youth Vote! Walks With Bow Wow

Wow! What a turn out! Black Youth Vote! Georgia knows how to organize. I must say that I was truly impressed with LaTosha and Helen for turning up the heat and mobilizing here in Atlanta. This is my first time organizing on this level for any election. These veterans showed me a thing or two. My hat goes off to them. For those who do not know, LaTosha and Helen represent the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation in Atlanta. Black Youth Vote! is an amazing program within the Coalition. We could not do what we do without being a coalition. (For more information on the coalition go to www.ncbcp.org. Don't forget to visit our Election Center.)

Kicking off the Walk Across America Voter Registration Initiative was definitely "hot". Black Youth Vote! young volunteers showed up in great numbers ready to walk. Everyone was anticipating Bow Wow to show up at any moment. There he was, across the street, on the horizon. Pretty cool. He did a few television and radio interviews and then the walk began.

We made stops at Georgia State led by Grace, a student, who showed us where the student hot spots were. It was pretty amazing to see folks being registered there. Grace grabbed the megaphone and just started chanting and encouraging students to register to vote. Bow Wow sat on a railing and just talked to students as if he attended the institution. It didn't take long for students to come over and get involved. We left on the next leg of our trip.

We stopped through to Georgia Tech where Matt led us through the campus. It was a huge campus and we lost our police escort. So, naturally, we used the bullhorn to make siren sounds. We met up with our escort again and Bow Wow thought of something cool, Tacos. We ate tacos and chips along the way. We finished at the CNN Center where we began about 8 miles earlier. We were off to Clark Atlanta from there.

By later afternoon, Clark Atlanta, Morehouse and Spelman were "jumpin". Jordan met us at the corner of MLK and James P Brawley Drive. Bow Wow did his usual - interviews. He let the public know that he was walking to bring awareness to the issues in our country as well as encourage voter registration and the importance of voting early. Georgians were voting yesterday in an amazing move to vote early.

The walk through Clark Atlanta was definitely memorable. Students received Bow Wow extremely well. This walk was the slowest. With so many people interested in his cause, we could hardly walk fast. We arrived at Morehouse to attend Hump Wednesdays - where students from all three schools were gathered to listen to a DJ spin and get valuable information about upcoming events, etc. It was time to introduce Bow Wow, so Michael instructed me to grab the mic and get the party started. For those who do not know, Michael is truly the hardest working man in the business. What business? Any business. My hat goes of to Michael Mauldin too and Billie Bragg is not far behind him.

We gave a shout out to CASA, an activities group responsible for putting on the event every Wednesday. It was great seeing the comraderie and a good friend Christian Perry who heads up the event.

After talking about Declare Yourself and Black Youth Vote! it was time to introduce the guy with the vision - Bow Wow. This guy is totally humble. He doesn't want to take credit or disrupt the party. He simply wants to bring awareness. We can all respect that. He sat behind me and told me to let everybody know that we just finished walking 8 miles. That was important. We just did not show up at the AUCenter without putting in some work. Bow Wow grabbed the mic, spoke about his message and stayed around for an informal dance competition or showcase. After a few photos taken with CASA and a few high school students who walked with him, we were off.

The excitement for the day was great. We looked back on the day with a complete smile, but definitely 8 miles later we were all exhausted. I can speak for myself. But, I would not have changed one thing about yesterday. See you in South Carolina as we visit Claflin and South Carolina State University.