Two voter registration and power-building organizations hit the Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive, on Oct. 3 to spread the word about voting.
Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change, the two organizations, helped students register to vote, check registration status, request ballots and sign up for electoral reminders of important dates.
Voter registration papers sit on a table on Oct. 3 at the Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change student registration event at Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
“Black Voters Matter” shirts sit on a table for students to grab after they’ve registered to vote on Oct. 3 at the Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change student registration event at Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change members pose for a photo on Oct. 3 at the student registration event at Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive. From left to right: Alexander Montalvo, central team organizer, James Whitfield, board member, Lydia Faith, central team organizer, Jacora Johnson, community organizer. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Denita Jones, Black Voter Matter Texas regional organizer, and Alexander Montalvo, Tarrant4Change central team organizer, talk to a guest on Oct. 3 at the Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change student registration event at Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Elly Buford, Black Voters Matter logistics coordinator, talks to a staff member on Oct. 3 at the Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change student registration event at Tarrant County College South campus, 5301 Campus Drive. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change organizers walk on campus on Oct. 3 at the Black Voters Matter and Tarrant4Change student registration event at Tarrant County College South, 5301 Campus Drive. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Elly Buford, the logistics coordinator at Black Voters Matter, talks to a TCC student about voter registration on Oct. 3. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Elly Buford, the logistics coordinator at Black Voters Matter, talks to a TCC student about voter registration on Oct. 3. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
The Black Voters Matter’s “We Won’t Black Down” tour bus travels to different college campuses across Texas to spread the message: “Engage the voter.”
“A lot of times people only get engaged on this like time for a national election, but I think more people are starting to see these local elections matter,” Tarrant4Change board member James Whitfield said. “So if you’ve tuned in, if you got somebody that’s bringing awareness and educating the community on what’s going on in their respective communities, local is where things happen.”
Tarrant4Change emphasized the importance of capacity building, both as a community and as organizers.
“We’ve done community engagement, and for years, it’s like counting on people to volunteer, and that’s all well and good, and we got people that want to pour their energy and time and give that as a gift, but it gets tiring,” Whitfield said.
By having the numbers and financial means, people can be more involved, more often.
Black Voters Matter Texas Regional Organizer Denita Jones said that working collectively makes a difference.
“We all have the same goal, and that’s to engage the voter, not just for Election Day, but all 365 days of the year. Because in our community, especially communities of color, people only come in when it’s election time, and then they disappear,” Jones said.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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