YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — The Black Voters Matter bus rolled into Youngstown Thursday with the goal of educating and mobilizing voters in the city.
Leaders in Youngstown’s Black community including Mayor Tito Brown were present to uplift voters who say their voices aren’t always heard.
Youngstown resident Serena Harris voted early on Tuesday and came to the Black Voters Matter event to encourage other people to vote too.
“Your voices need to be heard. Let us not just sit in silence and talk about it at the roundtable, at our dinner table — let your voice be heard at the ballot,” Harris said.
The tour also headed to East High School to show young voters what they’re all about and encourage them to head to the polls.
Vashitta Johnson is the organizing manager of Ohio’s BVM but is originally from Warren.
“We have these smaller towns, these smaller cities where we need to be just as impactful. We need to have people coming in. We need to show support and we need to be uplifting the younger people to vote,” Johnson said.
The Youngstown Warren Black Caucus has been bringing Black Voters Matter to the area since 2022. The bus tour crosses 25 states and focuses on voter education.
Jaladah Aslam, president of the Youngstown Black Caucus, says their concerns are American concerns and it’s important for them to reach out to voters to make sure they have accurate information as well as transportation to the polls.
“We really think it’s important for people to know that one, people do care about you, and two, you’ve got to care about yourself and so the best way to take some power and exercise their right and your voice is to vote,” Aslam said. “We use this as a means to get people involved. You don’t just get a free t-shirt, you have to text five friends and remind them to go vote.”
The Black Voters Matter bus will head to Cleveland Thursday evening before continuing its tour across the United States.