Diversity and Community Engagement
The University of Mississippi

National Voter’s Education Week in the LOU Community

National Voter Education Week on the UM Campus and In the LOU Community:

 

National Voter Education Week, which begins today, Monday October 4 and runs through Friday, October 8, 2021, is a week-long project to promote voter registration and preparation for election days. The UM Andrew Goodman Foundation, the UM Voting Ambassadors, Oxford to the Ballot Box, and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council are working together to host a series of voter registration drives during National Voter Education Week for the LOU Community and UM campus!

 

These events are held in honor of Michael Schewrner and James Chaney, two civil rights activists murdered in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Chaney and Schewrner, along with Andrew Goodman, were three of many volunteers who promoted African American voting registration in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Era. While Shewrner and Goodman were not from Mississippi, James Chaney was a native of Meridian and served as a grassroots organizer in the state for six years before his death at the age of 21 in 1964. Originally arrested by a sheriff’s deputy in Neshoba County, the three men were subsequently released, only to be abducted and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, who had been tipped off by the local authorities.

 

The Andrew Goodman Foundation works to promote voting access in honor of these men and to help support a new generation of student activists. Our voting registration events are held this week in honor of Michael Schewrner and James Chaney as we continually advocate to ensure all eligible voters are able to vote.

 

We are excited to host three voter registration drives this week across Oxford. Come out and see us to register to vote or learn more about voting rights and efforts in Mississippi!

 

  • Tuesday October 5th
  • Where: Oxford Community Market 

Old Armory Pavilion, 1801 University Avenue 

  • When: 3:00 – 6:00 pm

 

  • Wednesday October 6th
    • Where: On the Square by Square Books, Jr.
    • When: 2:30 – 6:00 pm

  • Thursday October 7th
    • Where: The Grove in front of the Student Union Plaza
    • When: 11 am – 3 pm. Stop by our table between classes, and be sure to visit other booths in the Plaza as Homecoming Week concludes!

 

If you can’t see us this week, but are still interested in registering to vote or getting involved in voter education and advocacy, feel free to contact the UM Voting Ambassadors and the UM Andrew Goodman Foundation!

 

Check out the resources below: