My Vote Matters:
The Past and Present Battle for Voting Rights
Presented in partnership with Black Voters Matter
Thursday, May 19th, 2022, 7:00 – 8:30PM
Location: True Colors YouTube channel
*Note: This event will be completely virtual with no in-person attendance.
As Georgians, and particularly Black Georgians, find their access to the ballot facing heated attacks, many are reminded of the sacrifices that Fannie Lou Hamer and other brave citizens made to secure the right to vote. This timely Community Conversation will serve as a reminder of the past battles to ensure that all of Georgia’s citizens have equal access to participate in our democracy, as well as the mountain we must still overcome today.
Our Panelists:
Community Conversation: My Vote Matters
Gail O’Neill
Editor-at-Large, ArtsATL
Gail O’Neill is editor-at-large at ArtsATL, where she writes about arts and culture, and curates the monthly “BookMarks” column. She is also the host and co-producer of Collective Knowledge— a conversational series that is broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and TheA Network.
Most recognizable for her work in fashion, Gail spent 10 years circling the globe as a model before joining CBS News in New York City as a features reporter. After relocating to Atlanta in 2000, she hosted a travel show for CNN, and subsequently hosted several series and specials for HGTV— including Mission: Orga-nization, Christmas at the White House and Behind the Design of HGTV!s Dream Home.
Gail O’Neill (Moderator)
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Community Conversation: My Vote Matters
LaTosha Brown
Cultural Activist and Artist
Website: www.mslatoshabrown.com
Social: @mslatoshabrown
LaTosha Brown is an award-winning visionary thought leader, institution builder, Cultural Activist and Artist, and Connector. She is a nationally recognized, “go-to” expert in Black Voting Rights and Voter Suppression, Black Women’s Empowerment, and Philanthropy.
Her voice is the nexus between the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter.
“There is power in my voice! It is a divine gift that I use to connect different worlds. I bridge the philanthropy world to the grassroots community, traditional politics to grassroots politics, and practitioners to the scholarship of movement building.”
LaTosha is the Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. These initiatives are designed to boost Black voter registration and turnout, as well as increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities.
LaTosha is also the Visionary, Founder and Co-Anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. This is $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women and girls. The goal of the consortium is to create a new approach to philanthropy by allowing every component of the program, inception to execution, to be created by Black girls and women in the South.
In 2021 LaTosha Brown was named one of Glamour Magazine’s ” Women of the Year” after inspiring voter turnout, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of citizens and notched three historic wins for the Democratic Party in the state of Georgia.
Ms. Brown is also the 2020 Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, the 2020 Leader in Practice at Harvard Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and a 2020-2021 American Democracy fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard.
What’s Next?
LaTosha has worked in 23 different countries to include Kenya, Guyana, and Brazil. Her next mission involves resourcing and empowering women across the Diaspora. “I don’t want women to be seen as victims; they are the problem solvers for the world. I am convinced that Black Women are going to liberate the world!”
In the Media
Ms. Brown has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, CNN, Democracy Now, and PBS. Her Op-Eds have been showcased in the New York Times, Politico and Essence. Her work has also been highlighted in several docuseries: What’s Eating America?, American Swamp, and Finding Justice. To learn more about LaTosha, please visit www.ms.latoshabrown.com
LaTosha Brown
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Community Conversation: My Vote Matters
Doug Shipman
Atlanta City Council President
Twitter: @DougShipmanATL
Instagram: dougshipman.atl
Facebook: Doug Shipman, Atlanta City Council President
Doug Shipman was elected president of the Atlanta City Council in November 2021.
Council President Shipman comes to public office after a long history of demonstrated leadership in Atlanta for Atlantans. He believes that a prosperous Atlanta is a place that invests in relationships before a crisis happens and that Atlanta can be a national model for the expansive growth in diversity that America is experiencing.
Shipman is highly noted as a coalition builder and an ambassador with the talent to bring people together to solve problems with commonsense solutions. He has found ways to engage communities to bring incredible ideas to reality. His work has been recognized by many civic, civil-rights, and human-rights organizations, including the Atlanta Business League, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Atlanta Urban League, the Junior League of Greater Atlanta, and the Buckhead Rotary Club. He has also been recognized numerous years as one of Atlanta’s Most Influential Leaders by Atlanta magazine, Georgia Trend magazine, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Doug has a track record for civic engagement and community service. His civic appointments have included Cyclorama task force and the Xernona Clayton street renaming commission. Shipman has served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations including Easter Seals of North Georgia, The Carter Center, Midtown Alliance, the Metro Chamber of Commerce, Advisory Council of the Islamic Speakers Bureau, Honorary Board of the Anti-Defamation League (SE Chapter), and the Out of Hand Theatre.
Doug Shipman joins the City Council after serving three years as the CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. There, Shipman focused on diversifying offerings and patrons and improving fiscal and operational management of the third-largest arts center in the United States. Under Doug’s leadership, the Woodruff Arts Center embraced and featured artists of all backgrounds enabling them with equal access to, and the ability to prosper in the ever-growing Georgia arts industry.
Prior to the Woodruff, Shipman served eight years as the founding CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Before being named its CEO, Shipman led the Center’s $100 million fundraising campaign, and he also led the efforts to design, build, and launch the Center successfully. He also supported the effort to secure and pay for the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Collection at Morehouse College.
Council President Shipman has served as a speaker and consultant to some of Atlanta’s most transformative companies. He was a principal at the Boston Consulting Group and was CEO of BCG BrightHouse consulting. Under his leadership, the firms created jobs, expanded offices and clients nationally and internationally, paving the way for their clients to be instrumental in infrastructure and strategic planning for their respective communities.
A magna cum laude graduate from Emory University in Atlanta, Shipman also holds a Master of Theological Studies Degree from the Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Public Policy Degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Shipman is a long-time resident of the historic Old Fourth Ward, and enjoys spending quality family time—especially cooking—with his wife and their two young daughters.
Doug Shipman
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Community Conversation: My Vote Matters
Aaron Johnson
Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections
Aaron Johnson represents the citizens of Fulton County as a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, where he has served since 2018. He is currently serving in his 5th year. Born and raised in Moultrie, Georgia, Aaron is a graduate of Morris Brown College where he majored in Legal Studies.
Aaron serves as the District Director for Congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia’s 5th District. He has served under former GA Governor Roy Barnes and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Aaron was the Director of Constituent Services for Fulton County Commission Chairman, John Eaves.
Additionally, Aaron served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic Party of GA. Aaron is married to Dr. Alanna Johnson and they have one adult daughter and two sons.
Aaron Johnson
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