LWV-Salem is marching in the Negro Election Day Parade and tabling at the Willows throughout the day! We need marchers and volunteers to make a good showing! Note: The day’s events and entertainment extend past 2:00 pm. We want to make sure our table is staffed at least until 2:00 pm.

Sign up to march in parade.

Sign up to work the table.

Thanks to the efforts of Salem United, Inc., Negro Election Day is now a Massachusetts state holiday. This is at least the 283rd Negro Election Day, but the first with the Commonwealth’s recognition of its significance to American history.

Read more at Salem United’s web site, but in brief, Massachusetts was the colony in New England where Negro Election Day was celebrated earliest (1741). Negro Election Day was the first Black voting system in our country.  On the third Saturday in July, enslaved Africans and free Blacks joined together in a celebration of self-governance, electing a Black King for a year.

Photo credit: Salem United website.