Power of the Vote Youth Project

What do 21^st century youth have to say about the right to vote, and how do they perceive the POWER OF THE VOTE?

The 15^th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified 155 years ago in February 1870, declared: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” And in August 1920, the 19^th Amendment stated: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

On Sunday, May 4^th, from 3pm to 5pm at the Orange County Main Library in Hillsborough, please join us for the “The Power of the Vote Youth Project” open house and program featuring the creativity, artistry and activism of our young people from Orange County. This event is free and open to the public. 

Students from the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Association, Carolina Friends School, and the NAACP Youth Council will showcase and explain their artwork illustrating their understanding of the power of voting.  Youth leaders for this project are: Danita Thompson, Kate Pendergrass and Lorie Clark. Two graduate students of Dr. Freddie Parker will relate their perceptions of the legacy of the right to vote through spoken word. In addition, a dance student will give expression to the theme with a piece choreographed by Rashii Purefoy.

Supporting this program of local teenagers and young adults will be keyboardist Samuel Obie, providing music reminiscent of the fight for justice, and photographer Trevor Holman, capturing moments of the program with his camera. For further information, please contact Sally Freeman at sallyfreeman@earthlink.net, or Renee Price at 919-593-1904.

Sponsors of the “Power of the Vote Youth Project” include: the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition, Orange County Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council.