Our Mission
The 2020 O.V. Catto Voter Empowerment Initiative is
an all-volunteer effort to increase voter registration and Election Day
turnout, among people of color, in Pennsylvania. The Initiative has
targeted eighteen jurisdictions within sixteen counties in the
Commonwealth where communities of color are underrepresented in that
county’s electorate. The participants in the Initiative include
the Faith Community, Civic Organizations, Labor Organizations,
Sororities and Fraternities, Community Based Organizations, Voting
Rights Advocacy Groups, and others.
The campaign for greater civic participation and voter empowerment consists of a series of coordinated efforts to conduct non-partisan voter registration activities at locations in Municipalities, Townships and Boroughs that have demonstrated traditionally low voter participation rates. Church sponsored activities seem most favored activities because of the role played by the Faith Community in the everyday lives of the poor, underemployed and citizens of color. Labor organizations and advocacy groups for workers’ rights also identify readily with voting and civic engagement and are engaged with their constituents on a daily basis. Post-secondary student populations are encouraged to join the O.V. Catto Voter Empowerment Initiative.
The Catto Initiative field operations, volunteers will coordinate communications and track the progress of voter registration by county, in the sixteen targeted jurisdictions. Use of Online Voter Registration, in Pennsylvania, is encouraged as the quickest and most direct method of voter registration. Traditional Mail-In Voter Registration Applications will be utilized, based on availability, through local County Commissioners Offices and County Voter Services offices. The Catto Initiative will assist every participating organization in getting the materials and the technical assistance required, to build a non-partisan, voter registration and election protection campaign that reflects the goal of increased voter participation, by people of color, in Pennsylvania communities. We through the utilization of trained volunteers, provide the Logistical Expertise & Tactical Management for the coordinated campaign in the designated target areas.
The campaign for greater civic participation and voter empowerment consists of a series of coordinated efforts to conduct non-partisan voter registration activities at locations in Municipalities, Townships and Boroughs that have demonstrated traditionally low voter participation rates. Church sponsored activities seem most favored activities because of the role played by the Faith Community in the everyday lives of the poor, underemployed and citizens of color. Labor organizations and advocacy groups for workers’ rights also identify readily with voting and civic engagement and are engaged with their constituents on a daily basis. Post-secondary student populations are encouraged to join the O.V. Catto Voter Empowerment Initiative.
The Catto Initiative field operations, volunteers will coordinate communications and track the progress of voter registration by county, in the sixteen targeted jurisdictions. Use of Online Voter Registration, in Pennsylvania, is encouraged as the quickest and most direct method of voter registration. Traditional Mail-In Voter Registration Applications will be utilized, based on availability, through local County Commissioners Offices and County Voter Services offices. The Catto Initiative will assist every participating organization in getting the materials and the technical assistance required, to build a non-partisan, voter registration and election protection campaign that reflects the goal of increased voter participation, by people of color, in Pennsylvania communities. We through the utilization of trained volunteers, provide the Logistical Expertise & Tactical Management for the coordinated campaign in the designated target areas.
Our History
The Catto Initiative is dedicated to Octavius Valentine Catto,
a famed voting rights advocate and martyr. Mr. Catto was assassinated
on Election Day in 1871 while encouraging Black men to go to the polls
and vote in Philadelphia. He was one of the first documented martyrs for
voting rights, but not the last. It is in Mr. Catto’s honor that we
work to further his mission now and for years to come. This Initiative
has operated since 1982 within the networks of grassroots activism in
Pennsylvania and other areas of the United States. Our coordinated Voter
Protection Campaign joined with other national and Commonwealth allies
in 2012.
Our Convener
The Catto Initiative is convened by an experienced soldier of the
Movement for Black Empowerment. He was awarded and presented the name
and rank of Jemadari by a national leadership cadre and has served, on
the People’s Business as a Commander, for more than three decades.
Jemadari provides tactical expertise oftentimes required in executing
effective voter protection.
“November 3, 2020 is when voters in the U.S. electorate will make their decision about who will guide the functions of our government. We will not allow our voices to be excluded, silenced, or suppressed in the electoral process.” – Jemadari
“November 3, 2020 is when voters in the U.S. electorate will make their decision about who will guide the functions of our government. We will not allow our voices to be excluded, silenced, or suppressed in the electoral process.” – Jemadari
“It is for the good of the Nation that every element of its population be wisely instructed in the advantages of a *Republican Government, that every element of its people, mingled though they be, shall have a true and intelligent conception of the allegiance due to the established powers.“*GDW NOTE: not to be confused with the current perversion of the "republican" party.
Octavius Valentine Catto,
From Address to the Institute for Colored Youth, May 10, 1864
