Did you know that the first documented act of voting by African Americans in what would later become the United States occurred in Essex County, Massachusetts in the 1740s? Over the decades, "Negro Election Day" was held in different locations in Salem and Lynn/Saugus and continues to be celebrated to the present as Salem's "Negro Election Black Celebration Day" (formerly known as "Black Picnic Day").
Please take a moment to email your support of S.2083, An Act to Establish the Third Saturday in July as Negro Election Day. Written testimony can be submitted via email to the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight in care of Jordan Latham at jordan.latham@mahouse.gov or Mary Wasylyk at mary.wasylyk@masenate.gov. The deadline to submit written testimony is FRIDAY, November 19 by 5pm. FYI: The chairs of the joint committee are Senator Marc R. Pacheco (Marc.Pacheco@masenate.gov) and Representative Antonio F.D. Cabral (Antonio.Cabral@mahouse.gov). Please ask the joint committee to refer the bill favorably out of committee.
The League of Women Voters is supporting this bill in concert with Salem United, Inc., the nonprofit that organizes the annual commemorative events in Salem and that has done so much to unmask the importance of this day in American history. S.2083 was presented by Senator Joan B. Lovely and co-sponsored by Representative Paul F. Tucker. It has a growing list of co-sponsors and supporters and Governor Charlie Baker has said he’d love to issue the first official proclamation of Negro Election Day in July 2022.
Through official statewide commemoration, the General Court (our legislature) and Governor would elevate awareness of Negro Election Day and bring widespread recognition of its historical significance. Official commemoration would be a meaningful act of inclusion, replacing the previous exclusion and erasure of Negro Election Day from history. Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion is core to the League’s mission to empower voters and defend democracy. Recognizing Negro Election Day would be a specific way to recognize the tradition of African Americans fighting for their rights. Moreover, Negro Election Day is a day of inspiration for all Americans and supporters of democracy. Official recognition would enhance civic engagement activities that take place annually in Salem on Negro Election Day, and encourage awareness and broad civic engagement elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
Please share this call to action with your friends in other areas of Massachusetts, too! We’d love the Joint Committee to see support from all over the Commonwealth.