CHICAGOPlanned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) is launching a series of virtual panel discussions focused on the 2020 election. The first panel in the 2020 Election Issues Forum series is titled "Black Women's Vote, Power & Accountability" and takes place Thursday, June 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Event participants include: Delmarie Cobb, Founder of the Ida B. Wells Legacy Committee; Kimberley Egonmwan, WVON-AM Afternoon Drive host; Karen Freeman-Wilson, President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League; and McGhee Williams Osse, Co-CEO of Burrell Communications Group and PPIA Board Member. The event is moderated by Lolly Bowean, Media and Storytelling Program Officer at the Field Foundation. The event is free, however, registration is required at bit.ly/blackwomensvote .
PPIA is launching this series to address issues that will affect the 2020 Election and lift up a variety of voices and opinions in order to increase voter engagement. PPIA engages in educational and electoral activity, including public education campaigns, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy on behalf of commonsense policies that protect and foster the sexual and reproductive health and rights of individuals, families, and communities.
PPIA's 2020 Election Forums address issues currently at the forefront for voters who are thinking about the upcoming General Election. The Forums are designed to help voters understand these issues as they prepare to vote in November.
Topics panelists will discuss include:
- How voter engagement and policy change can address health disparities and increase access to care.
- What policies can effectively address the long-standing and persistent racial wealth gap for Black people and other people of color.
- Policy changes needed to address long-standing structural and institutional racism, in the wake of the most recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor.
- How to hold politicians accountable for the promises they made to Black women at the federal, state, and local levels.
Additional 2020 Election Issues Forums are:
- Thursday, July 9 - Racial Justice: Concrete Actions for Transformational Change
- August - Voting: Ballot Access and Exercising your Right to Vote
- September - Get-Out-The-Vote Rally sponsored by Planned Parenthood Illinois Action PAC
- October - The Fair Tax: Lifting the Burden on the Middle Class and Those Struggling to Get There
To get more information or to sign up for updates visit www.PPIAction.org .
Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL). For more information, visit www.ppiaction.org .
—From a press release