āVoting Is Litā for the Equity Alliance and Black voters
Charlane Oliver is a co-founder of the , an organization dedicated to educating and energizing the Black electorate. Formed in 2016 as an outlet for anger and frustration after multiple episodes of indifference and violence against the Black community, Oliver initially served as the organizationās volunteer board chair. In just three years she has parlayed her passion for justice into a funded position as executive director.
Recently, the Equity Alliance made an impact on local elections and helped raise concerns about voter suppression in Tennessee.
āWe decided that weāre not going to do things weāve always done,ā Oliver says. The group made the decision to appeal directly to Black culture, coining the motto āVoting Is Lit.ā
āWe go where the people are. We go to nightclubs. We go to laundromats. We host barbecues,ā Oliver says. āWe donāt want to be just a voter registration group. We want to watch legislation and monitor what policymakers are introducing.ā The Equity Alliance organized the first protest and voter registration drive in Nashville in response to George Floydās death. Whenever they see the Black vote taken for granted, the groupās leaders speak out.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Oliver arrived at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ in 2001 and describes walking around campus with āa chip on my shoulder,ā daring people to question the fact that she belonged. She found her academic home as a human and organizational development major at and honed her abilities as a problem solver in nearly every course that was part of her HOD curriculum.
āIt is the best major on campus because it sets you up with the foundational skills you need in the working world, no matter what job you have,ā Oliver says.
After college she worked for the State of Tennessee, Meharry Medical Center in Nashville, the Knoxville Urban League and, more recently, the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN). As her professional successes grew, Oliver wondered why Blacks were not building voting power to influence elections. Thus, the Equity Alliance was born.
āOur strategy is to talk to people who are being ignored and get them to see that everything about their lives is tied to their vote, because itās tied to policy. We get them the knowledge because if we know better, we do better.ā
āJENNIFER PLANT JOHNSTON