ATLANTA (November 19, 2020) - In July, eleven of Atlanta’s black radio stations and Urban League of Greater Atlanta announced Black Radio United for the Vote, a collaborative program with the common goals of voter registration, voter education and voter mobilization in advance of the November 2020 election.
After Atlanta made national news regarding voter suppression during the past primary election, several Black Radio Program Directors got together to discuss how they could create positive changes as they look toward the future. The group created Black Radio United For The Vote. The participating radio stations created BlackRadioUnited.com and dedicated five full days of on-air programming to educate, inform and inspire Atlanta’s black community to register to vote, check their current registration status, vote, and participate in the 2020 Census.
In a single day of unified broadcasts, the 11 stations reached over 1.2 million listeners* with information on voting in the November 2020 election… and these unified broadcasts took place five times from July through November 3. Participating Black Radio United stations are proud to have played a part in the democratic process and raising awareness among millions of people in the Atlanta Metro area. As the election has drawn to a close, Georgia set a record in number of votes cast, with over 4 million votes counted.
Click here to view a video recap of Black Radio United for the Vote.
“The Urban League of Greater Atlanta is grateful to have been invited to serve as the community partner with Black Radio United for the Vote. We are also thrilled that 41 additional civil rights, community, fraternal and sororal and faith-based organizations joined our partnership in our voter registration, education and mobilization campaign." said Nancy A. Flake Johnson - President/CEO, Urban League of Greater Atlanta. "Based on the record-breaking turnout in the November Election we have helped demonstrate the power and impact of each and every vote and we look forward to continuing our collaboration through the Senate and other Runoff races."
“Black Radio United for the Vote made its mark driving people to the polls in record numbers in the Atlanta metro. Partnership with the stations, as well as The Urban League of Greater Atlanta, proved that working together we can make a difference.” - Terri Avery, Director of Branding and Programming, KISS 104.1/CMG Atlanta.
“Black Radio United for the Vote, our partners and the people of Atlanta helped to make a difference in the 2020 election,” said Reggie Rouse, Urban Format Captain, Entercom, and Program Director, V-103. “I’m proud we were able to leverage our scale and influence in the local community to inform and inspire our listeners to participate in this election season.” “Black Radio United is the perfect example of what happens when radio maximizes it’s ability to serve the community”- Derek Harper, Operations Manager, Radio One Atlanta.
“This was definitely a team effort. We understood the importance of getting people registered to vote, educating our communities about the issues and then mobilizing people to get out and vote throughout Georgia. It was a successful effort and WJZA was honored to be part of Black Radio United. There is still more work to do and collectively our efforts must not stop with the 2020 General Election.” – Rene Miller, Program Director, Smooth Jazz 101.1/100.1, WJZA/Davis Broadcasting.
"It's Important for people of color especially the under-30 demographic to keep participating in the voting process because it's not an overnight fix. It's a consistent thing to effect change." - Solo, Program Director/Promotions Director, Streetz 94. 5/Core Radio Group.
“You know in our community nothing beats the influence of what we call ‘the street committee.’ Black Radio United messaging was so uniform that no matter which station they turned to they heard the same thing, which resonated with the ‘street committee’ how important it was to participate in this election. The people then began to mobilize and the results were seen on election day. WCLK was proud to be a part of that process!” - David Linton, Program Director, WCLK/Clark Atlanta University.
The hard work is not over yet, as Georgia now embarks on a run-off election for two Senate seats on January 5, 2021, Atlanta’s black radio stations again will come together to mobilize all eligible voters to get registered and participate in the election, while providing information on the candidates, polling locations and early voting.
Black Radio United For The Vote includes KISS 104.1 (WALR/Cox Media Group), V-103 (WVEE-FM/Entercom), News & Talk 1380 (WAOK-AM/Entercom), Majic 107.5/97.5 (WAMJ/ WUMJ/Radio One), Hot 107.9 (WHTA/Radio One), Praise 102.5 (WPZE/Radio One), Classix 102.9 (WAMJ-HD2/Radio One), Streetz 94.5 (WWSZ/Core Radio Group), O.G 97.9 (WWWQ-HD3/Cumulus Media), Jazz 91.9 (WCLK/Clark Atlanta University), and Smooth Jazz 101.1/100.1 (WJZA/Davis Broadcasting).
More information can be found at BlackRadioUnited.com.
*Based on Atlanta Metro Nielsen data for October 15, 2020 6a-7p, Persons 25-54