Lebron James Forms Voting Rights Group With Black Athlete's & Celebrities

Source: Nike / NIke

This week has shined a bright light on voter suppression and things to come as we get closer to the big election in November. In Georgia, the history of voter suppression continues to live on through this most recent election, as the polls were forced to stay open until 9pm after running into several issues upon centers opening.

If you were lucky enough to make it in the building before 9pm, you were allowed to stay until you cast your vote. The problem, however, was the fact that the last person didn’t finish voting until just after 1 a.m. For many the simple task of voting became a five-hour waiting gmae.

One person who happened to notice this while being all the way in California was Lakers star LeBron James. The baller posed the question; “How are we supposed to vote away the problems in our country if even the way we vote is “structurally racist”?

In underprivileged neighborhoods, there are less machines, less workers, longer wait times, and earlier cut off times. LeBron is already hard at work to change this for Black voters everywhere by creating a new Voters Right Group, according to the New York Times.

The organization, called More Than a Vote, will partly be aimed at inspiring African-Americans to register and to cast a ballot in November. But as the name of the group suggests, Mr. James and other current and former basketball stars — including Trae Young, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jalen Rose — will go well beyond traditional celebrity get-out-the-vote efforts.

Mr. James, 35, said he would use his high-profile platform on social media to combat voter suppression and would be vocal about drawing attention to any attempts to restrict the franchise of racial minorities.

LeBron has always said his greatest legacy would be his off-court achievements, and that is already becoming clear. After opening his “I Promise” school in his Akron, Ohio, and now helping combat voter suppression to protect the black vote, it’s safe to say he is well on his way to achieving that goal.