Eexecutive Director , ProGeorgia
Women Organizers continued from page 29
is helping its grassroots partner organizations embed voter registration into their everyday work — such as English classes or help with citizenship issues — for years . Making get-out-the-vote efforts part of larger community work is more effective because it ’ s not “ transactional ,” Atkins said . “ It is a natural outgrowth of the conversations and the relationship-building that you ’ re already doing .”
After the pandemic began , ProGeorgia sent its partner organizations what it calls “ civic care packages ” full of masks , cellphones , tablets , and even laptops — everything they needed to continue registering voters online . “ We don ’ t want anyone to have barriers to voter engagement ,” Atkins said .
Tamieka Atkins
Eexecutive Director , ProGeorgia
What they do :
A statewide coalition , ProGeorgia helps more than 30 grassroots groups around the state — including the GCPA , as well as groups like the Georgia AFL-CIO and the Georgia Association of Educators — work together on voter registration and issue organizing .
How they shaped the election in Georgia :
Founded in 2012 , ProGeorgia has helped register more than 100,000 voters — more than 83,000 in 2016 , more than 50,000 in 2018 , and more than 20,000 this year , despite the pandemic , Atkins said . One of the group ’ s main strategies
Their lessons for 2021 and beyond :
One of the biggest lessons of 2020 is “ you cannot expect national entities , DC-based organizations , to do real , authentic work in states ,” Brown said . That means campaigns need to get comfortable with “ trusting the leadership in states to really know what they need to engage their voters .”
And now that Biden and others are thanking Black women voters for delivering the election for Democrats , they also need to look to Black and other women of color when it ’ s time to make key appointments in the new administration , Atkins said . And that administration needs to prioritize issues that matter to Black women , from health care to the minimum wage .
“ When Black women thrive , so does the rest of the country ,” Atkins said . “ This can be looked at as a selfish investment .” The Working Families Party hosted early-voting rallies and other get-out-the-vote efforts in Georgia this year . Courtesy of Working Families Party
6 Black WomenOrganizers What Happen in Georgia and What comes next Politics , Elections , Campaigns Stacey Abrams Tamieka Atkins Amber Bell Helen Butler LaTosha Brown November 2020