African American News
"17-Year-Old Wins Competition To Produce Black Youth Vote! Theme Song Encouraging Voter Participation"
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 Click here to hear "The Movement" by Alana Clark
Hip-hop song available as a national public service announcement
She is not old enough to vote in the November 7 Election, but 17-year-old Alana Clark (aka RisQue) is well aware of the issues important to Black youth. Clark was selected from dozens of older contenders across the nation to write and perform the theme song for Black Youth Vote! (BYV!), the youth initiative of the Washington, DC based National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP). The song is available as a public service announcement as part of their efforts to get out the youth vote in the mid-term election cycle. (contact: edmedia@dogonvillage.com /(818) 613-9521).
The song, entitled The Movement, calls for action among young voters. “Young people want less talk and more action. They are determined to ‘Be the Change’.” says Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO of the NCBCP, a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of over 80 member organizations dedicated to preventing the disenfranchisement of African Americans and other marginalized communities.
Campbell adds, “By registering to vote, registering their peers and voting on Election Day, these young people will have a stake in how their lives will be shaped through public policy and the elected officials that represent their interests.”
“Young people want change. We just think that politicians do too much talking and don’t do enough to make our life better.” Says Clark, an honor student at Lovejoy High School in Hampton, Georgia. The Georgia production crew included Illai Kenney of Jonesboro, and Clark’s brother Lendon Clark on background vocals. The song was produced by James Rapier of LTC Entertainment in Riverdale.
“We’re excited to see a high school student aware of the issues important to young people today,” said Irene Schwoeffermann, the 24-year-old BYV! program director. “Black Youth Vote! registered thousands of new young voters this fall many of them were high school seniors. Civic participation needs to start at a young age.”
In addition to on the ground activities, in an effort to reduce the number of Black voters denied their right to vote in the 2006 election cycle, the organization launched an aggressive “Know Your Rights and Voter Verification” public awareness campaign advising registered Black voters to check their voting status, know their correct polling site, and understand the I.D. requirements in their state before Election Day. They are urging voters to call a national voter verification hotline, 1-866-MYVOTE1, to locate their correct polling place or to be connected to their local election officials.
Now in its 10th year, NCBCP’s BYV! is dedicated to motivating the hip-hop generation to effect change in their communities by active involvement in the civic process. This year BYV! partnered with Young Voter Strategies to register 350,000 voters aged 18-30 years old. Young Voter Strategies is a non-partisan project of The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Movement will be used as a public service announcement in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas, where BYV! coordinators and volunteers are aggressively working to get young voters to the polls. For a copy of The Movement or more information, please visit CLICK HERE or call (818) 613-9521.
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