'Say It Louder': Claflin students sign up during voter drive

The Vote HBCU drive was held Aug. 26. (Panther photos by Tyler Starks)

Vote HBCU held a voter registration drive at Claflin University on Aug. 26 in front of the student center as part of the “Say It Louder” tour.

With the upcoming presidential election, the program aims to help students register to vote or check their registration. The drive was hosted by Claflin student and Vote HBCU fellow Promise Joseph with assistance from Claflin’s NPHC and other Claflin students.

Promise had the opportunity to work with Vote HBCU and learned a lot about public policy and how the election process operates. With a passion for politics and the goal of becoming a lawyer, she wants to ensure that Black people have the right to vote and they use it.

“Working with social justice, I’m going to be working with people who are potentially not going to have a right to vote. So it makes me realize the value of having the right to vote because the people I’m going to be working with won’t have the right to vote," Promise said.

"After all, once you’re a criminal, you can’t vote. So people who can vote need to be using it because it’s all they have.”

At the registration drive, students had incentives for registering to vote, which included small prizes, some Italian ice and a chance to enter a giveaway.

The initiative ended with the “A Seat at The Table” panel at the Claflin Theater with Miss Claflin University Genesis Morris, Claflin student and HBCU White House Scholar Breeze Smith, Claflin alum Anthony Hallmon, and Claflin student and former Georgia 2nd Congressional District intern Kaliyah Hall as guest speakers.

The panel discussed the history of civil rights activism in HBCUs and how the students of today's age can continue the legacy by being active in the electoral process.

Promise summarized the HBCU Vote Registration Drive as “a really good event.”

“I think it was 120 people we got registered to vote. We got people’s addresses changed who were from out of state and from other areas of South Carolina. We changed it to Claflin’s address so they can vote on State’s campus.”

Vote HBCU will continue visiting other HBCUs on their “Say It Loud” tour and registering students for the upcoming election.