Source | Vote Or Else Town Hall Meeting Takes Power In Atlanta

Friday in Atlanta was a day of civic engagement, community outreach and networking as Killer Mike welcomed a slew of rappers, actors and athletes to his old neighborhood. The multiple Grammy Award winner has once again teamed up with Mobilizing Justice, AAPI Victory Fund, Working Families and SEIU to encourage people to get out and vote.

To kick off the day, Mike was joined by Marvin Bing, founder and leader of Mobilize Justice, and his group of luminaries: Beanie Siegel, Jadakiss, Black Sam, The Marathon’s Jorge “JP” Peniche, Jadakiss, Tamika Mallory, Latoya Tonodeo. from Power Book II: Ghost, Smoke DZA and Vaino when they visited parts of ATL, including the Camelot projects. The team went door to door talking to residents in an effort to encourage and motivate people to vote in this historic and important election, as well as to obtain information about candidates running in state and local elections, and then to go to the polls in November. 5.

Later that evening, media members Angie Martinez and Ray Daniels moderated a town hall that included most of the celebrities, as well as D-1, Benny the Butcher, Working Families’ Maurice “Mo” Mitchell, SEIU International President April Verrett, founder and CEO of Onyx Impact Esosa Osa, Woody McClain from The Book of Power 2: Ghost, Isaac Keyes and J. Alphonse Nicholson play Little Murda in the hit Starz series P-Valley.

“We really get to decide what happens in our community.” Benny declared the urgency of voting. “What is actually happening in the structure of America, we can influence it and change it. I have mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, and this is important… My daughter, she is 19 years old. I told her: “Vote.” Be sure to vote this year.” This is her first time being able to vote. “Be sure to do it and exercise your right to do so.”

Beanie Siegel, who has been canvassing and attending town halls in cities like Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia since this summer, is passionate about helping people get information and participate in surveys.

“I always say: those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.” Beanie Siegel told people about this at a town hall held at a gathering place in Atlanta.

Siegel also recounted a conversation with a group of children at a local community center called PawKids, which focuses on local youth enrichment, health care and education.

“I was one of those kids” – Beanie added. “I talked to them. I didn’t talk to them. I didn’t talk to them. I talked to these kids. Many of us talk over each other. But let’s talk to each other. This is one of my biggest albums. I say, “Why am I here?” I’m going through this, so you won’t do it after me.” If I can’t teach these kids or anyone else anything, I can teach them what not to do based on the mistakes I’ve made in my life. It’s never too late to change. So if I could do it, I encourage all of us to do it.”

“Specifically, in the last few months, we have intensified our efforts to focus on the inner city, communities that are often ignored in mainstream campaigns, and targeting subcultures within the black community to gain education and participation, register to vote, and ultimately in the end, for voting,” says Marvin Bing. “You see my organization Mobilizing Justice working with the AAPI Victory Fund, SEIU, Working Families and many others. This is a real concerted effort. The hip-hop community is also stepping up efforts to educate everyone and get locals involved. OG has been collaborating with some up and coming artists and they are all sharing ideas, learning from each other and spreading the message to the community. Everyone also learned from some members of the community. The biggest takeaway is that everyone has a voice and everyone has power through their voice. We will be visiting even more cities in the last few days before November 5th to get everyone involved.”