Democracy North Carolina

⚡ Applications are open for the 26th year of Democracy Summer! ⚡ Do you know any college students who attend a North Carolina community college, college, or university and would be interested in this hands-on, paid summer internship in policy, organizing, communications, development, or operations? The Democracy Summer internship program empowers students to step into leadership roles, champion justice, and actively contribute to creating a better, more equitable society—one that is by and for the people. We equip our “friendterns” with lifelong skills that they can use to work for positive social change in their communities. (Just take a look at Democracy North Carolina's LinkedIn profile to see testimonials and accomplishments of some of our recent friendterns!) Learn more and apply to be part of the 2025 Democracy Summer internship class! Deadline Friday, March 7. demnc.co/demsummer

Hello LinkedIn family! Before we bring in the New Year, I want to take a moment to reflect on and celebrate some of my accomplishments and milestones during the fall semester of my junior year at North Carolina A&T State University. ✅ Chancellor’s List (4.0 GPA) – Honored to be named to the Chancellor’s List for the 5th time in my collegiate career. ✅ Campus C4 Fellow – Proud to have contributed to the political process as a Campus C4 Fellow with Advance Carolina during the recent election cycle. ✅ Spring 2025 Internship Secured – Excited to announce that I’ve secured an internship for Spring 2025, further expanding my professional experience. ✅ Student Advisory Board Member – Honored to serve on the Student Advisory Board for both the Office of Student Affairs and The Center for Excellence for Social Justice. ✅ Aggie Ambassador – Thrilled to represent the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as an Aggie Ambassador, sharing the Aggie spirit with prospective students. ✅ Secretary, National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA) – Proud to serve as Secretary for NBLSA and help elevate the voices of Black law students. ✅ Alzheimer's Association® Advocate Volunteer – Grateful to volunteer at two Walk to End Alzheimer’s events and contribute 26 hours to community service. ✅ Inducted into the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) – Honored to be inducted into NCNW, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for women and families of African descent, and empowering future leaders. ✅ No Aggie Left Behind Event Co-Host – Co-hosted an educational event with my fellow interns at Democracy North Carolina, engaging students in discussions about the importance of voting and critical legislation affecting North Carolinians. At this event, we got 25+ students registered to vote! As I reflect on all that I’ve accomplished, I’m filled with gratitude for the experiences and connections I’ve made along the way. This semester has reinforced the importance of staying focused, staying involved, and always striving to give back to the community. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey in 2025, and I’m excited for the opportunities to grow, learn, and contribute even more. Thank you to my mentors, peers, and supporters for being part of this journey! Let’s keep pushing toward greater impact in the coming year. Wishing you all success, fulfillment, and growth as we welcome the New Year! 🌟 #AggiePride #Leadership #CommunityService #StudentAffairs #SocialJustice #NBLSA #CivicEngagement #AlzheimersAwareness #HigherEd #GPA

Voter education should always be a prioritized component of voter mobilization efforts. Wanting to increase our peers’ knowledge of the 2024 state and local elections in North Carolina, myself and a few other Aggies designed an October voter education program titled Project 1891: No Aggie Left Behind. I served as a Co-Developer of this student event at NC A&T State University with Skylar M., Elsie Mandela, Aniah Metts, and Fadiris Castro Guzman. As former summer interns with Democracy North Carolina, we utilized the funding from our #FundOurFriendterns campaign to put this program together. The event consisted of a mock General Election with key state and local positions that were on Greensboro voters’ ballots in 2024. Such positions included Governor, County Commissiner, Commissioner of Labor, and more. We used popular celebrities, such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, as our mock candidates since we knew that students would be familiar with them. We then gave each “candidate” political platforms that were similar to the actual candidates running in each respective race in North Carolina. Students were then able to “cast their votes” to select who they wished to represent them based on these platforms. Afterward, we provided the students with real-world scenarios in which they would be directly impacted by the decisions of their selected candidates and allowed conversations to reflect. The program concluded with a Family Feud game show with giveaways to test what the students learned. Project 1891 taught the importance of independently researching all candidates on the ballot prior to going to the polls to vote. Additionally, we urged students to vote for candidates based on facts from their own personal research rather than assumptions from possible misinformation spread online or in the media. Our event was truly a success! We had 25 students participate in our program and we were able to register over 50 students to vote. A huge thank you to Kristen Marion for assisting our preparation of this program! #VoterEducation #AggiePride

I want to thank NC Newsline for the opportunity to write an op-ed about the importance of addressing a critical gap in North Carolina’s public high school civics education. As we look ahead to the 2024 election, it's more important than ever to equip young people with the knowledge and tools to engage in our democracy. I'd also like to thank Democracy North Carolina for their support in writing this piece. The full piece is linked here if you're interested in reading: https://lnkd.in/eKnR_MU5

One of your favorite Democracy North Carolina contractors checking in! Are you registered to vote in the state of NC ? If not… what’re you waiting for? Your voice matters & your vote counts!

The NC Supreme Court continues to show its loyalty is not with the people, but with partisan interests. In spite of every attempt to dissuade them, North Carolinians will turn out to make their voices heard, and Democracy NC's volunteer Vote Protectors will be at the polls to make sure no eligible voter is turned away. Thank you Andrew McLear Ph.D. for the shout out! Learn more about becoming a Vote Protector in this election: demnc.co/voteprotector

☎️ Calling all lawyers, paralegals, and law students!!! ☎️ Do you want to help North Carolina voters in 2024?  . This election, voters in North Carolina face: 🚩 New photo ID requirement 🚩 Shortened voting by mail periods 🚩 Impediments to same-day registration 🚩 Inconsistent distribution of ID exception forms and contact methods to  correct ballots 🚩 Lack of parking and access 🚩 Long lines and wait times 🚩 Understaffed polling places . The NC Election Protection voter hotline (888-OUR-VOTE) can help. ✳️ Every election cycle, Democracy North Carolina hosts a FREE nonpartisan voter hotline, staffed by trained volunteers, to help voters navigate the voting system. ✳️ We need volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students to answer the hotline during peak periods in the 2024 General Election, during Early Voting (October 17 - November 2) and Election Day (November 5). ✳️ Hotline volunteers answered over 600 calls during the 2024 Primary Election. We anticipate an even greater demand this election. ✳️ We believe one vote lost is one too many. Help us protect every eligible voter's access to the ballot in this election. . Learn more and sign up to volunteer! demnc.co/hotlinevol

What an experience as a Second - Year Friendtern at Democracy North Carolina I have improved my leadership skills by building connections among teams, asking and providing feedback, oganizing team-building activities, and working closely with supervisors and interns. Also, I have committed to multitasking in cross-departmental work to contribute to my friendterns' experience. From innovative activities planning in partnership with Kendall Garraway and Ben Neill , to give capacity-building workshops about lobbying, in company with the master Carol Moreno Additionally, this organization gave me the opportunity to go to the NC General Assembly, and lobby with representatives about bills that affect youth and particularly for my interest, bills that directly impact immigrant and naturalized communities. More importantly, I have done research about naturalized communities entitled to vote in North Carolina and proposed my own project for Foreigners' participation in the general election. This Summer hits differently in many ways from 2023, but I am so happy it is because I have boosted my leadership and advocacy skills Thank you! Democracy North Carolina Cheryl Carter Jean-Patrick Grillet Stefan Weathers Sr., D.Min. Katelin Kaiser Carol

With the opportunity to join the amazing cohort of Dem NC 25th anniversary friendterns in the consolidation of their efforts against anti-protest and anti-voter bills, I wrote a speech to reflect on the meaning of the movement and the reason why I fight. Listen below! #HB237 #SB88

It has been a while since I last shared an update on LinkedIn, but not for lack of work. Among other jobs and projects, working with the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion over the past year at UNC-Chapel Hill has been incredibly substantive and rewarding. However, it ended with equal frustration and disappointment due to the actions (and inaction) of the UNC administration, the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Governors. This summer, I have had the distinct pleasure of returning to Democracy North Carolina as a second-year intern to mentor the 25th class of interns and continue to advocate for voting rights across North Carolina. Below is a snippet from a speech I gave at a press conference outside the North Carolina General Assembly at the end of June, highlighting the hypocrisy and anti-democratic actions of many within the NCGA. Through my work with DemNC, I have spoken with lawmakers and advocated for policies that strengthen the voices of all North Carolinians and protect their right to vote. I hope that those in office and those soon to be in office will not only promote pro-democracy and pro-justice legislation but also appoint individuals who value the diversity of student voices and identities and the continual pursuit of progress. As part of this effort, I am raising money to bring back to Chapel Hill for voter outreach and civic engagement efforts in the fall. My goal is to embolden students to vote and equip them with the information they need to do so. If you would like to support this work, you can contribute to our Democracy Summer Mini-Grant Campaign at: https://lnkd.in/eK8kuwBS. I appreciate your support and I look forward to continuing this work in the fall.