States see record voter turnout

We're joined by a guest in studio, Dominique Whitehead, is the National Headquarters Chief of Field for the NAACP. First of all, welcome. Thanks for sticking with us. I know you've been on and working throughout the night, and so we really appreciate you sticking. Thank you for having me. Talk about the last 24 hours. Of course. Since, say, early morning, before the polls opened, before the voting started, to now. How has your mood? Has it changed? How has your mood been? What have you gone through? My mood has been really good, right, because we just came directly out of early voting. We saw close to 56 million people early voted across the country, a large share of that were black voters. So for the NAACP, we were really excited going into Election Day. But we also knew that we had to overperform, particularly black voters across many states across the country, particularly here in Michigan and in Detroit. So we was on pins and needles, right? We were also waiting for DOJ. We had, as you all know, we had a case with the Department of Justice. Justice involving federal agents being at polling locations. I was waiting on that. So we was on pins and needles, but my mood has been pretty much on the high over the last 24 hours, given what happened last night. What was the plan as far as the NAACP being here on the ground, knowing that this case, what's happening, and it looked like voter intimidation. Were you here to make sure that did not happen? Were you here to galvanize people and get them to vote? I saw we were live at one location where you could register to vote and vote as well. So what was the plan of action? All of the above. For us, it was all things mobilization to continue to increase turnout for those voters who did not early vote. The second piece was our election protection piece, right, and ensuring that we have folks at the polls and protecting the vote, making sure folks have the opportunity to vote. But most importantly was to increase the presence here in Detroit around the importance of black voters turning out to see the victories that we saw here in Michigan last night. With what happened with Haley Stevens, right here in Detroit, were you here for that? But were you expecting something? Were you there? Were you expecting something like that? And how do you what was the mood of the war room or the place where you guys are galvanizing to make sure you get out the vote? After that happened. Yeah. You know, NAACP is nonpartisan as you all know, but it was disappointing. I was not expecting to see that from Haley Stevens as someone who stood and said they stand for civil rights. Of course. Someone who stood and said they stand for women's rights, reproductive rights. The list goes on. But to then stand and endorse someone who's completely against all of that was just a bit shocking. But once that happens, with black churches involved, once that happens, what What did you all say after that experience and seeing the national attention, if not international attention, that got? Yeah, for the NAACP, we was very clear. You don't use black voters and use the black church to get votes. And that's what she did. And we was very clear about that. Not just the national office, but the Detroit branch, Reverend Wendell Anthony, as well as our Michigan State Conference as well. It was a game of politics. You don't play politics with black voters. Yeah. Your nonpartisan organization. Are you learning from black voters when you're on the ground? What are the issues that are most important to black voters? Authenticity, right? Making sure that you're engaging and talking to black voters year-round. This election cycle, for the most part, what we've seen and what we know, affordability, right, is a big piece. The economy is a big piece for black voters, particularly for black men, having them a part of the conversation and not just looking at them as a turnout piece, but really engaging and having conversation with black men. That's an interesting piece right there because it's one thing to show up and vote, but it's another thing to be engaged and stay engaged. What's the NAACP doing on that behalf? To boots on the ground, so to speak, to make sure men are engaged. Yeah. The one thing about the NAACP, we are not a fly in by night, leave out the next day. We are a trusted messenger and community. We have well over 2,200 units and branches across the country. But for black men in particular, we launched a campaign this year along with the NAACP, 100 black men, vote in the National Urban League to organize and engage black men, not just for the cycle, but year round. We speak to the strength of the NAACP because I think you got the name, the NAACP is used as an umbrella term for just so many black organizations. But the question that I see online, where is the NAACP? Where is an NAACP when it seemed there was a time where people were afraid to make certain policies or say racist things? And that might not be the case right now. So it seems like sometimes things There's not an answer. There's not a fear of crossing that line anymore. What would you say to that? One, that's a good question. But two, I think for the NAACP, we are in community day in and day out, right? We are five letters. The NAACP, we have well over, as I mentioned a second ago, 2,200 units on the ground. So we're in community. The NAACP has stood up and showed up time and time again. We're a 117-year legacy organization, but we're not going anywhere. We continue to stand in the midst of times. We continue to push back on this current administration. We continue to stand up for black voters. We continue to push policy that's going to advance civil rights for black and all people in this country. Real quickly, we want to get some sound from a significant moment last night. So let's take a listen. We'll get your reaction on the other end. Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first. And who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, D.C. You sent the message that in these times of division and acrimony, you believe in something foundational, and that is hope. My sorority sister there, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the new governor of the state of Georgia. If you could give a snapshot nationwide for the work that is yet to be done, where would you say we are? We've made some progress. Some people feel like we've taken a few steps back as well. Where are we? We're in a good spot right now in this moment, but we still have a lot of work to do. But to this piece here with Keisha Lance Bottoms, we have six. Black governors and the first black woman governor now here as of the last night in Georgia. And so that is a huge, huge moment. We got a governor named Keisha. That's a big deal. Where were you when that went down and what was the reaction in the room? When that went down, I was actually honestly grabbing a cocktail and I was running back and he said, we got a governor named Keisha. And where were you? I was at the Cambria Hotel in our war room and I ran back into the room because I could not believe it. Now, we were just in Georgia, maybe four or five. Five days ago, we had a huge town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris to galvanize the vote there in the state of Georgia. And clearly, that town hall helped to galvanize the vote when we have a governor named Keisha. Okay, so it's not just me. It's not just my family. I think that it's just, you know, sometimes we all have the same thought, just no matter what it's about. We have a governor named Keisha. I think it's going to be on a t-shirt somewhere. It should be. Because I've read that text several times. All right, looking forward. One thing you want to leave people with, how much longer are you staying in town? I'll be in town until the end of this afternoon. Okay, so you're heading out. What do you want to leave people with, with all that happened with this election? Michigan has been doing, I'll start with Michigan. Michigan has been doing some great work over the years. There's a lot of amazing grassroots organizations on the ground. I ask people to get involved with those organizations, be involved. And this isn't the last stop, right? We got, we had a great wins last night, but we got to continue to hold folks accountable. We have a lot, we have two years until the next presidential election cycle. There's a lot, Michigan is going to be battleground zero. Detroit is going to be battleground zero, not only in the primary but also in the general. So keep organizing, keep engaging, and get involved. The NAACP Chief of Field, Dominic Whitehead, you've been here for several hours now, so I know you're headed out, you're getting on a plane. Thank you so much for sticking around, talking to the people. Very important for you to be here. Thank you. We appreciate you. We appreciate you.