TEMPE, Arizona — It's a saying you hear every election.
"My vote doesn't matter."
Many feel that no matter how they vote, it won't have any impact on the outcome. A national group that's touring the country is trying to change that perception when it comes to Black voters.
“We are here to set the record straight that it does,” said Hamilton Grant.
Grant is with a national organization called 100 Black Men of America INC. Since March, they've travelled to more than a dozen cities across the country encouraging Black men to not only register to vote, but to cast their ballots in any and all elections.
On Monday night in Tempe, about two dozen people in the Black community came out to discuss issues in their community and the power of voting.
“For many minorities, even Hispanic and Black communities, we fought for the right to vote,” said Atllas Hopkins, one of the panelists during the discussion.
Issues that were brought up by those in attendance included housing, education and crime. The presidential election was also brought up but Grant said the conversation wasn't about trying to convince those in the community to vote a certain way in the election.
Grant said It really comes down to galvanizing black men to vote in all elections and being part of the process.
“We need to be talking about who represents you on the school board, the city council, the county council,” he said.
For Grant, the only thing that truly matters is that you get out and cast your vote.
“If we’re registering people at record rates it means nothing if the people we register are not coming out to actually vote,” Grant said.
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