More Than a Vote, the collective of athletes led by basketball star LeBron James, will unveil its final pre-election day political push on Wednesday, a quick response and promotional operation to combat the spread of misinformation among younger black voters.
The initiative, which is a collaboration with the political group Win Black and includes some prominent partners, aims to educate younger black voters about how false political statements can be spread on social media. The aim is to provide advice that will lead young people to create a voting plan – either by postal voting or in person.
The effort, dubbed “Under Review,” will be shown on Snapchat through Election Day and will include videos from celebrities and activists like Desus and Mero, Jemele Hill, and the athletes involved in More Than a Vote.
This comes after the group invested in recruiting more than 40,000 election workers to help formerly incarcerated people regain their voting rights and to aid in converting NBA arenas to polling stations.
In a statement, the co-founders of Win Black said the videos captured political misinformation aimed at suppressing the black voice, an issue that federal authorities identified in the 2016 presidential election.
“Harmful disinformation is being armed to block the voices and votes of black Americans – but we have the power to stop them,” said co-founders Andre Banks and Ashley Bryant. “Through this partnership, Under Review will urgently flood the Zone with the facts we need to counter targeted attacks by bad actors at home and abroad.”
In a phone interview with the New York Times, James discussed the importance of voting and how he sees his evolving role as an athlete and social activist. Mr. James, who recently won his fourth NBA championship as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, has seen extrajudicial activism as an integral part of his view of his legacy.
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These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
More Than a Vote’s latest push is at combating misinformation targeting black voters. Why did you all want to get involved?
It’s easy. We believe that the blacks, our community, have been displaced from our civic duty. We have received misinformation for many years.
And I am able to educate people and, through more than one vote, educate people about the importance of this movement and how important their civic duty is. Not only to empower yourself, but also to give something back to your community.
It is something that is very close to our hearts – which is very close to my heart. I am happy and honored that I can have these athletes and these influencers and the people who want to engage with me too.
Each of the topics in More Than a Vote were addressed to black communities. Why is this racist lens important for your political engagement?
It’s authentic to me. I come from the black community. I understand my blacks and what we go through every day. I understand that we have not received a lot of information over time and I understand how important our coordination is.
I listen to my kids in my hometown of Akron, Ohio, I listen to my kids in my I Promise School, and one of the things we always talk about is that we don’t get a lot of information or that we feel that we are going to not appreciated or we feel that our voice doesn’t count.
You know, I try not only to deal with my children at a young age – third, fourth and fifth graders – but also with those who now have the option to choose: the 18-year-olds, the 22-year-olds -Years, the 25 year olds, the 40 year olds.
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Oct. 21, 2020, 5:12 p.m. ET
Because many of us just thought our voice didn’t count: This is how they were taught, this is how they were raised, this is how they have always felt. You felt kind of institutionalized. But I want to give them the right information, I want them to know how important they can be.
In the last election cycle you fought for Hillary Clinton in Ohio. This time you focused more on topics than on a single candidate. Can you explain the thinking behind this shift to me?
I don’t want to say it’s a shift. It is exactly what had to be done at this point.
We talked about electoral repression, we talked about police brutality and systemic racism. We have had so many things going on and the suppression of voters in our communities is paramount. That’s something we wanted to educate our people about.
What is the most important election day for you? Is it more participation of black voters? Is it the distance from President Trump that I know you’ve had a back and forth with?
I define success by our people going out and voting.
You know, there are so many stats out there that you can see them every time. Who didn’t vote? Which counties did not vote? Which parishes did not vote? And a lot of it has to do with our blacks. Hopefully we can get them out and educate them and make them understand how important this moment is.
I don’t go back and forth with anyone. And I’m damn sure I won’t go back and forth with this guy. But we want better, we want changes in our community. We always talk about “we want change” and now we have the opportunity.
The NBA had a work hiatus this summer following the shooting of Jacob Blake. When you look back on that difficult moment for the league, a political one, how did you deal with it?
I think they did a great job. And the great thing is the partnership. Understanding – I don’t even want to say understanding – they listen to us. They listened to the players.
Like I said, we want change. Acting and being able to change is important to us.
This is not where you started your career regarding extrajudicial activism. How did you transition from LeBron James the basketball player to your role as a social leader?
We all have moments in our lives when we know who we are and what we are about.
And it’s about growth. I’ve grown over the course of my career. Over the course of my career as an 18-year-old boy who joined the league in 2003, I’ve grown into a 35-year-old man who is husband and father of three children.
I’ve learned to know who I am and what I stand for. And it’s not just about me, it’s about my people. So I am leading the prosecution.
Thank you and congratulations on the championship ring no.4.
I appreciate you
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