Women's History Month event will promote voting and civic engagement among Black women

Two organizations led by Black women will host an event Saturday in Phoenix intended to inspire more Black women to become civically engaged, including promoting the importance of voting during the 2024 presidential election year.

The nonpartisan event, tied to Women's History Month, will include an art exhibit featuring work by Black, Indigenous and other people of color, an art auction, time for networking, a vocal performance by jazz artist Sandra Bassett and a panel discussion focused on how to become more civically engaged. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.

"Throughout history Black women have been the backbone of their communities. The adversity Black women have faced has led them to civic engagement, not by choice but by need," said Joysaphine Waitman-Powell, director of civic engagement and special projects at the Arizona Coalition for Change, one of the nonprofit groups organizing the March 23 event.

Black women have played a key role in advancing voting rights throughout American history, including the women's suffrage movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but those contributions have often been ignored or overlooked, said Donna Williams, an attorney and president of The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Phoenix chapter, which is the other group organizing Saturday's event.

"Our contributions have intersected with and often enriched the broader suffrage movement. The historical significance of these contributions is often minimized or not spoken of at all," Williams said. "In hosting this event during Women’s History Month, we want to shine a bright light on this work."

The centerpiece of the event will be a panel discussion to "engage the larger community around the importance of civic engagement and voting as they relate to preserving our democracy.

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"Every vote counts and we are stronger together," Williams said.

Although the Black population in the Phoenix area is relatively small, it has the power to tilt elections in close races, said Sena Mohammed, executive director of Arizona Coalition for Change, a nonprofit civic group.

The event is entitled "Black Women Make the Difference."

In addition to Williams, several leaders of local chapters of historically Black Greek-lettered community service organizations are scheduled to participate on the panel: Tawanda Johnson-Gray, of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Jessica Revere, of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority; Kesha Hodge Washington, of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; and Theresa Williams, of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Denise Trimble Smith, host of Courageous Conversations.