Stop the Violence holding weekly voter registration drives – Buffalo News
Murray Holman gives a thumbs up to a passerby that yelled to him in support of voter registration.
A couple of weeks shy of her 18th birthday, Serene James’ mother brought her to a voter registration drive on East Ferry Street.
With a mask over her nose and mouth, James, who just graduated – albeit at a virtual graduation from Da Vinci High School – filled out the form and received a black T-shirt “Vote to make a difference.”
That’s what Murray Holman, executive director of the Stop the Violence Coalition, hopes she and other young people will do in the coming elections.
Stop the Violence, together with the Buffalo Peacemakers, Back to Basics Ministries, FATHERS and MVPs, are holding weekly voter registration drives throughout the city to make sure Buffalo residents turn out to vote.
Amid the growing Black Lives Matter movement and a rise in shootings in the city of Buffalo during the first half of 2020, Holman wants Buffalo’s residents to take steps beyond the protests.
“We should be unifying more than ever before,” Holman said.
On July 1, the drive was held on East Ferry Street, near Grider Street. The Stop the Violence van was set up in a lot as Holman and volunteers offered T-shirts. A DJ played R&B music.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Bobbie Brown of Stop the Violence Coalition helps Ellis Warren register to vote.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Mae Bynul from Stop the Violence Coalition walks the block asking people if they want to register to vote.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Elaine Champion from Stop the Violence Coalition walks the block asking people if they want to register to vote.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Mae Bynul from Stop the Violence Coalition crosses the street to register Lasharon Woods to vote.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Mae Bynul from Stop the Violence Coalition registers Lasharon Woods to vote.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Kenneth Washington registers to vote with the help from Bobbie Brown of Stop the Violence Coalition.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Residents gather to listen to Murray Holman of Stop the Violence Coalition.
Stop the Violence Coalition voter registration
Murray Holman gives a thumbs up to a passerby that yelled to him in support of voter registration.
Nearby was a memorial set up for a young man who was killed in June amid a wave of violence. Candles and glass liquor bottles were set up in a circle around a utility pole in remembrance of the life that was lost. Members of the Buffalo Police Department’s Neighborhood Engagement Team were also there.
With a bullhorn in hand, Holman beckoned drivers to blow their horns and register to vote.
Many people driving by honked. But not everyone.
One young woman shook her head as Holman asked her if she was registered.
“Your vote counts,” he said.
She kept shaking her head.
“If you don’t vote, then nothing changes,” he said.
She wasn’t interested, even when he offered her a shirt.
The voter registration events are scheduled through the end of August. They’re all slated to be held held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays: July 15 at West Ferry Street and Grant Street; July 22 at Delaware Avenue and Hertel Avenue; July 29 at Abbott Road, McKinley Parkway and Southside Parkway; Aug. 5 at Broadway and Bailey Avenue; Aug. 12 at East Delavan Avenue and Grider Street; Aug. 19 at Main Street and Winspear Avenue; and Aug. 26 at Ontario Street and Tonawanda Street.
The voter registration drives are being supported by attorneys John Elmore and Steve Boyd.
“We want to see people come together,” Elmore said, “Turn this around and turn it into voting.”
Maki Becker
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