Black Girls Vote, a non-profit grassroots organization founded in Baltimore, started their second collegiate chapter at American University.
The group aims to represent the concerns and interests of black women on campus and empower black women to engage in political organizing. While they are a national organization, the inaugural university chapter started at Morgan State University in the spring of 2018, with the AU chapter founded in the spring of 2019.
Autumn Grant was responsible for bringing BGV to AU. Grant got involved with the organization the summer after her sophomore year and said the group inspired her to volunteer in community movements.
“We plan to heavily increase our community outreach in terms of policy education and really break down what the current issues are,” Grant said.
Mackenzie Meadows, the group’s president, said that BGV’s role is to educate and advocate students. They plan to host events like Presidential Candidate Showdown, a speed date session for all the candidates in the Democratic party and an absentee-ballot tutorial.
“There are currently very few organizations that cater to black women learning about the political system and how to use it to their advantage,” she said.
Meadows says she hopes BGV makes an impact on campus.
“We would like to cultivate a community of thinkers and activists who want to further learn and make changes on campus and out in the city ... to create efficient programs that [are] fun too but make a visible difference.”
