WASHINGTON (AP) ? The National Urban League is calling on African-Americans to get out and vote come election time as a means of countering state laws the group says threaten education and economic progress made by blacks.
Borrowing from the Occupy Wall Street movement, the 101-year-old civil rights group made “occupy the vote” a theme for its annual State of Black America report. The report, which will be released Wednesday, evaluates how African-Americans are doing in reaching equality with white Americans.
Urban League CEO Marc Morial says new photo ID, registration and early voting laws could widen the equality gap between white and black Americans by lowering political participation of African-Americans. He says their votes are needed to ensure continued support of programs that have helped close the equality gap.