With 98 days left until Election Day, LeBron James is doing his part to help Florida ex-felons participate.
Reported on news sources, LeBron is donating $100,000 to make sure Floridians with felony convictions don’t run into roadblocks on voting day. LeBron’s philanthropy comes after the Supreme Court decided not to “intervene in a case challenging what critics call Florida’s ‘pay to play,’ law, that for some brought to mind the infamous ‘poll tax’ of the Jim Crow south,” Forbes reports.
As a result, LeBron teamed up with the More Than A Vote organization to combat systemic, racist voter suppression. The organization will educate people on what they need to know. More Than A Vote will also donate to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, one of the main organizations behind a 2018 ballot measure that restored the right to vote to ex-felons, who were later denied the vote if they had any fines or court costs unpaid, the article reports.
Since 2000, felon disenfranchisement has been a major issue and the main focus of Florida activists. Advocacy groups believe felon disenfranchisement kept a number of minorities from voting. Although ex-felons in FL can vote once they complete their sentence, it’s a long difficult process.
Back in June, LeBron announced he and his Longtime business partner, Maverick Carter raised $100 million to build a new media company that aims to amplify Black creators and consumers. They plan to have their media company as a place with an “unapologetic agenda: a maker and distributor of all kinds of content that will give a voice to creators and consumers who’ve been pandered to, ignored, or underserved.”
LeBron has also been keeping Breonna Taylor‘s message alive while on the basketball court.
https://twitter.com/HOT97/status/1286755105698709505
Now, THIS is how you use your star power for the better!
Today is also national vote by mail day.
It's National Vote By Mail Day. Voting by mail is easy and safe. Take a few minutes to request your vote-by-mail ballot, then get your family and friends to do the same. Request your ballot early, send it back early, and fill it out carefully. Get started: https://t.co/pmWQqs4PbB pic.twitter.com/JlOWmkJG57
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 28, 2020