Black Hispanic organizations are banding together on work, immigration, and COVID-19. They used technology and grassroots work to mobilize voters
by: Julian Resendiz
Posted: Jan 8, 2021 / 15:33 GMT-0600
Updated: Jan 8, 2021 / 17:19 GMT-0600
A woman holding a young child is casting her vote in the Georgia runoff at the Dunbar Neighborhood Center on January 5, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. In the two runoff elections, polls were opened across Georgia against Democratic candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff against incumbent Senators David Perdue (R-GA) and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA). (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
EL PASO, Texas (Boundary Report) – The type of data-driven, multi-ethnic grassroots organization that helped turn Georgia blue is already at work in border states, according to national activism groups.
The change in Georgia came about when people expressed their frustration over job losses, the status quo policies and what they felt was an inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the groups say it took a coalition of black and Hispanic groups to reach out to younger people, displaced hotel and domestic workers, and naturalized citizens from Africa and Latin America who don’t ordinarily vote.
“We had an unprecedented floor game. We knocked on (millions) doors in six weeks despite the pandemic and reached 360,000 people, 83% of whom are black, ”said Gwen Mills, secretary and treasurer of Unite Here, a group that organizes the hospitality industry.
She said coalition volunteers listened to voters, shared their own stories of layoffs and struggling to provide for their families, and sent a message of hope and a need to get involved. They also scanned voter registration lists to target their visits and used social media to engage younger voters.
“This is what democracy looks like without storming the Capitol,” said Mills.
The result was 16 votes for Joe Biden and angry victories for Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in the races in the US Senate.
Similar coalitions also helped wrest Arizona from Republicans and contributed to a Democratic victory in the battlefield state of Nevada, the groups said.
The Senate seats in Georgia, which will allow Biden to take initiatives and support laws without automatically blocking Republicans, “were delivered by those who had the most to lose: immigrants, health workers, laid-off workers, blacks and browns” . said Tania Unzueta, political director of Mijente, a pro-worker and pro-women LatinX group.
Hundreds of people are waiting for the early vote on Monday, October 12, 2020 in Marietta, Georgia. (AP Photo / Ron Harris)
She said the group knocked on the door of every registered Hispanic voter in Georgia and supported the efforts of the multi-ethnic coalition in the state.
“Latino communities vote on issues, not partisan,” said Uzueta. “Immigration was a major issue. The next phase is to talk about what needs to be done with immigration in Georgia and at the national level, ”she said, which meant holding Biden accountable for immigration reform promises and urging him to suspend deportations.
According to Mills, black-and-brown coalitions are active in Texas and Florida, where they are gaining ground, and have made a lasting impression in other states.
“It has been done in many places. California was a red state for a long time – then we organized unions and immigrant groups to bring changes to the electoral cycle. The same investment and organization was in Nevada and Arizona, ”she said. “Texas and Florida are on that list. These are huge states to turn around. It will take time, but it is already moving. “
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