
One of the social media messages published as part of MLICCI's campaign to help as many Mississippians as possible register to vote and prepare to cast their ballot on Nov. 3, 2020.
Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative (MLICCI) is working to ensure that more people get to the polls to vote this November.
The Non-Partisan Voting Project focuses on voting education and support for the people of Mississippi, primarily families connected to the child care centers that work with MLICCI. MLICCI has several partners in this campaign to educate citizens about voting, poll locations, how to vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other relevant issues:
Students and faculty from Tougaloo College
Black Voters Matter
NAACP One Voice Mississippi
Mississippi State Representative Zakiya Summers (68th District)
Students from Tougaloo College will receive virtual training on voter education and outreach; they will work with child care providers from MLICCI’s statewide Child Care Leadership Team (CCLT) to ensure the parents and staff of those child care centers are both registered to vote and know where they are supposed to vote in November. The students on the Voting Project team will be working until Election Day.
“The pandemic has made life hard enough for Mississippians, especially low-income families served by our child care center partners,” said Carol Burnett, MLICCI’s Executive Director. “We know that COVID-19 likely will make voting in Mississippi difficult, come November. We’re so proud to be working with our partners to help people exercise their right to vote.”
“Interns for the Voting Project will work with more than 170 Child Care Directors who are members of the CCLT,” said Roberta Avila, MLICCI’s Child Care Leadership Team Coordinator and the MLICCI lead for the Voting Project. “By working with our CCLT members, we potentially can educate hundreds of Mississippians who need help getting registered to vote or knowing where to go to vote.”
"... We potentially can educate hundreds of Mississippians who need help getting registered to vote or knowing where to go to vote." Roberta Avila, MLICCI Lead for Voting Project
The students are also receiving child care advocacy training from MLICCI, which seeks to make affordable child care more accessible for Mississippi’s working families.
As an Assistant Professor of Education at Tougaloo College and an integral member of the Voting Project, Dr. Roshunda Harris-Allen, Ed.D. is coaching, training and grooming tomorrow’s education leaders to support people’s right to vote.
“Teaching social justice and restorative practices through the Voting Project, my students will have the opportunity to incorporate civic engagement activities into their daily practices,” Dr. Harris-Allen said. “This project coincides with and enhances Tougaloo College’s Division of Education goals and objectives. Students will learn from hands-on practicum experiences within the community, develop the skills needed to become a societal leader, inspire others to take a stand in what they believe, and gain an awareness of the voting process and how an entire nation can be affected positively utilizing their right to vote.”
See the latest from our Non-Partisan Voting Project here.
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