STATE BY STATE: VOICES MATTER
Women Run the Vote 3.0: The Alabama Black Belt Run, is a 220 mile virtual relay from Cuba, Alabama to Phenix City, Alabama, beginning September 27th to October 1st, to raise funds for Black Voters Matter.
Women Run the Vote (WRTV), a nationwide virtual relay, was founded in 2020 by Oiselle and Run for All Women. WRTV teamed up with 10,000 relay participants that contributed $272,000 to Black Voters Matter. In 2021, the WRTV relay event raised $111,000 with $37,000 donated to three partner organizations: The National Indigenous Women's Resource Center; The Duwamish Tribe of Seattle; and Runners for Public Lands.
Now it’s year 3, and what a year where our collective voices MATTER! This year Women Run the Vote 3.0: The Alabama Black Belt Run, will again benefit Black Voters Matter. Registration begins Monday August 8th - all are invited and welcome! Let’s pack registration and let your voices be heard!
We've already got 1407 racers registered on 238 teams and $22,572 donated. Your turn!
Want to be a team captain?
Create a team and recruit teammates!
Joining as part of a pre-registered team?
Please make sure to register under your team captain!
Racing solo?
No problem - we've got teams for you.
Register under any of the following teams: 11_Join Us! or 12_Join Us! or 13_Join Us!
“We must transform our anger into POWER and organizing energy. Our rights and our bodies are non-negotiable! We must be relentless, we must be organized, we must be focused and visionaries. Let’s TURN this nation around. It’s OUR time! It’s OUR fight! We WILL WIN!”
- LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter (source)
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“With the end of Roe, and greater control in the hands of states, southern states in particular are likely to see an increase in abortion bans that will put the health of millions, and Black women in particular, at even higher risk."
"Our lives are at stake. Black lives are at stake and we are not going to let a Court that still doesn’t have a Black woman representative decide what rights we do and do not have. We know the fullness of our humanity must be protected and respected – at all times. While this decision is shameful, demeaning and dangerously violent, if we are forced to organize to expand or change the Court to protect the lives of childbearing people, then that is what we will do.”
- Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown, co-founders of Black Voters Matter (source)
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What is the Alabama Black Belt?
The term “Black Belt” broadly refers to an area of the Southern United States - extending from Texas to Virginia - named for its fertile, rich black soil, making the region ideal for agriculture. Following the forced removal of Indigenous peoples, the Black Belt emerged as the core of the plantation era. The Alabama Black Belt stretches over 18 counties, including: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Crenshaw, Dallas, Green Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, and Wilcox. Fifty percent of Alabama’s enslaved population was concentrated in this region. The effects of oppression are still felt today, with all 18 counties experiencing some of the highest rates of poverty in the state. In addition, the region experiences some of the worst voter-suppression laws in the United States.
Despite this troubling and heart wrenching history, the Alabama Black Belt is home to an incredible legacy of powerhouse leaders, grassroots organizations and critical moments in civil rights history, including:
⦁ The Montgomery Bus Boycott
⦁ The birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
⦁ The Selma to Montgomery March, which led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, to name a few.
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This legacy continues, for there is still much work to do with outcomes that make a difference. In the 2017 special election, the “Alabama Black Belt did something that 68% of white Alabamans refused to do: reject the election of a white supremacist sexual abuser to The U.S. Senate”. Through their focused efforts, 96% of Black voters, largely concentrated in the Black belt turned out to vote. One of the most critical aspects to this victory, besides the brilliant mobilization strategies of the NAACP and other grassroots organizers, is the fact that the Black Belt changed the political calculus of a state that demonstrates little investment in its residents – regardless of political party.
People often think of Alabama and other Southern states as being politically “set” and therefore unchangeable. However, the South represents several states and regions full of residents who are active in making political progress for this country. As these individuals and communities mobilize their collective voices, they can change the course of civil rights history as we have historically known it or for some, come to accept the current state as settled. Women Run the Vote 3.0 is an opportunity to disrupt perceived narratives of what the South is through the sharing of stories and information, all while encouraging women and folks from across the country to use their power for change. As participants are informed and inspired, WRTV 3.0 will raise critical funds for Black Voters Matter. Through our collective love of running and movement, community engagement and friendships, this relay event gathers us together to get more people not only registered to vote, but also civically engaged. Both actions are essential for every individual in order to preserve essential freedoms that are currently under attack - like our reproductive rights.
Goals of Women Run the Vote 3.0
⦁ Raise critical funds for Black Voters Matter
⦁ Amplify and elevate the work being done by community organizers in the black belt
⦁ Challenge people’s perceptions about the possibility of Alabama (and places like it)
⦁ Demonstrate the power of organizing for change
⦁ Share the rich history of the Alabama Black Belt - share the lesser known stories of folks in the Black Belt (both historically and present day)
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Beneficiary Organization: Black Voters Matter
The goal of BVM is to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny. We agree with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love." We seek to achieve our goals with the following 5 core beliefs:
⦁ The key to effective civic engagement and community power is understanding, respecting and supporting local infrastructure.
⦁ Black Voters Matter not only on election day, but on the 364 days between election days as well. This means we must support individuals and organizations that are striving to obtain social justice throughout the year.
⦁ Black Voters Matter *everywhere*, including rural counties and smaller cities/towns that are often ignored by candidates, elected officials, political parties and the media.
⦁ In order for Black voters to matter, we must utilize authentic messaging which speaks to our issues, connects with our hopes and affirms our humanity.
⦁ The leadership, talent and commitment demonstrated by Black women in particular must receive recognition and, more importantly, *investment* in order to flourish and multiply.
The Women Run the Vote Virtual Relay will cover 220 miles, in teams of 7 people. Our goal is to raise money for and share the mission of Black Voters Matter. Per-person registration cost is $35 and includes a Women Run the Vote gaiter (above) for the first 3,000 registrants. Additionally, you may purchase a R4AW Long Sleeve Shirt or a R4AW Short Sleeve Shirt to support the relay; a portion of proceeds will support the causes R4AW bring to their community and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to BVM.
RELAY SCHEDULE
8/8 Registration opens
9/26 Registration closes
9/27 Relay begins
9/27 - 10/1 Interactive relay through emails, postcards and location highlights along the route!
10/1 Last day to record relay activities. Keep in mind this race uses your local time zone, so you will have until 11:59pm YOUR TIME to complete your activity log. Please note that the backdate function will not be available on the final day.
10/2 Rest and celebrate your good work!
10/3 Let's get back to work to help voices VOTE!
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The Women Run the Vote Relay strives to be as inclusive as possible. More than 75 physical activities can be logged and converted to miles on the route. Athletes can register and create their own team, join a specific team, or register as an individual and pick a team. Share and follow Women Run the Vote Relay activities on social media using #WomenRunTheVote.
All funds raised in this relay (after covering administrative costs including payment to content creators) will be donated to Black Voters Matter so that they may continue to do the work of civic engagement and empowering community, thereby shifting our nation towards equity and democracy in this critical midterm year.
Join us! This event is going to be EPIC!
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Registration FAQ's
If you would like to purchase registrations for more than one person, please use this link: TEAM BUY. You will be able to purchase as many registrations as you'd like; you will then receive an email explaining how to redeem the registrations.
If you would like to participate in the relay but are financially unable to register, Women Run the Vote Relay does have scholarships available. Please email volee@oiselle.com for information on financial assistance.
In partnership with Black Voters Matter, Alabama Forward, as well as other organizations and leaders from across Alabama, we’re honored and excited to share the lesser known stories of both historical and present day leaders. Through this running event, our hope is that folks from across the country are invited, informed and inspired into action throughout the fifty states!
And as you wait for your fellow teammates to run their virtual leg, the following information has been curated for you to read, learn and come to appreciate and perhaps love this area of the country’s past, present and build its future.
Let’s do this!
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