With just over a week to go before Election Day, the DNC is off to a flying start.
On Monday (Oct. 28), the DNC announced a historic “I Will Vote” ad campaign targeting black voters with ads in 55 black publications and 48 black radio stations across the United States. Billboard Hot 100 Grammy winners Stevie Wonder, John Legend and LeToya Luckett-Coles are set to lend their voices to the campaign, along with Emmy-winning actress and producer Kerry Washington.
Wonder, Legend, Luckett-Coles and Washington each voice a unique ad that focuses on a different element of the upcoming election. Wonder emphasizes the value and importance of voting in elections because they “determine our future.” Legend specifically notes the Democrats' triumph in capping insulin prices at “$35 a month for seniors.” Luckett-Coles reminds listeners that “several women in states across this country are literally dying because they cut off our rights to reproductive health care,” and Washington encourages them to vote “if you want to lower the cost of living.”
“This investment shows Democrats' unwavering commitment to reaching black voters where they are and through the platforms they trust – including well-known black voices who will reach them on the airwaves – to ensure they have the resources they need to vote in the elections that matter most election of our lives,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “We know that the Black vote will play a significant role in the outcome of this election… In this final sprint to Election Day, the Democratic Party is taking no vote or community for granted, using every opportunity to engage every aspect of our diversity coalition of voters to elect Democrats up and down the ballot this November.”
Some of the Black digital and print publications that will feature the new ad campaign include; African News Digest, The Baltimore Times, Ebony News today, The New Orleans Tribune, Pride Magazine, Star of Zion, Word in black and The Villager.
The “I Will Vote” campaign coincides with the DNC's HBCU Homecoming Tour in partnership with BET We VOTE, which included Spelman College and Morehouse College's Spelhouse Homecoming as the final stop. The tour also visited Winston-Salem University (September 28), Lincoln University (October 12), Virginia State University (October 12), Howard University (October 19) and North Carolina A&T State University (October 19).
All of the artists participating in the I Will Vote campaign have supported the Democratic Party in the past. At this year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago (held August 19-22), Wonder performed the 1973 Hot 100 top 10 hit “Higher Ground” (No. 4). A few weeks later, the music legend unveiled a shocking new single titled 'Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart', his first new song in four years. This track soon gave way to a short arena tour called Sing Your Song! As We Mend Our Nation's Broken Heart.
Legend also performed at the 2024 DNC. The EGOT winner teamed up with Sheila E. for a spirited rendition of “Let's Go Crazy” in tribute to Prince, who shares a state with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (Minnesota). . Although not a musician, Washington also lent her star power to the DNC, serving as emcee for the convention's final night while hosting a reunion with Scandal co-star (and fictional president!) Tony Goldwyn.
Luckett-Cole, who boasts a Billboard 200 No. 1 album of her own. 1 (of 2006 LeToya), is a former member of Destiny's Child. During her time in the Grammy-winning vocal group, she sang alongside Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and Beyoncé, whose Kendrick Lamar-assisted “Freedom” served as Vice President Kamala Harris' official campaign song.
