Alyssa Milano, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro to Speak at Seventh Annual Andrew Goodman Foundation National Civic Leadership Training Summit Commemorating the 26th Amendment
MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY—From Friday, June 25th to Saturday, June 26th, The Andrew Goodman Foundation will hold its seventh annual National Civic Leadership Training Summit (NCLTS), hosted by actress and activist Alyssa Milano. The event, themed “Rise Up Weekend: We Organize, We Vote, We Lead,” will train a nationwide cohort of student voting rights activists from across the country. These activists will come together virtually to learn about voting issues and how to organize against voter suppression efforts emerging in states across the country. The 2-day event will provide students with training, strategies, and tools needed to advance youth leadership, civic engagement, and voter participation on their college campuses.
“Even though the 2020 Election is behind us, we’re seeing an unprecedented onslaught of voter suppression bills being introduced in states across the country,” said Alexandria Harris, Esq., President of The Andrew Goodman Foundation. “This event is also occurring less than a week before the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which prohibited age discrimination in voting. We are at an important crossroads in our nation’s history, and it is crucial that these young activists are educated on their rights to participate in and defend democracy.”
This year’s summit will also commemorate the 57th anniversary of the murders of Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, who were killed on June 21st, 1964 by the Ku Klux Klan while registering Black Americans to vote in Mississippi. Featured speakers include:
- Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes, the co-sponsor of the For the People Act;
- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy;
- United States Senator Amy Klobuchar;
- former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro;
- New York Congressman Mondaire Jones;
- Activist & Social Impact Strategist Jamira Burley;
- Co-Founder of Run for Something Ross Morales Rocketto;
- civil rights activist Dave Dennis;
- musicians and civil rights activists Andre Henry and Portugal. The Man;
- and voting rights journalist and author Ari Berman.
- More speakers are subject to be announced.
The event will include discussions about the 26th Amendment, the youth voting rights landscape, and skills-building sessions related to anti-racism, advocacy, organizing, voter engagement, communications, and building partnerships and a volunteer base. The event is made possible by the Puffin Foundation, with support from Bark Media, Bombas, and Film Movement. For more information or to register, visit www.RiseUpWeekend.org.
About the Andrew Goodman Foundation
The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission is to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy by training the next generation of leaders, engaging young voters, and challenging restrictive voter suppression laws. The organization is named after Andrew Goodman, a Freedom Summer volunteer and champion of equality and voting rights who was murdered, alongside James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner, by the KKK in 1964 while registering Black Americans to vote in Mississippi. To learn more, visit www.andrewgoodman.org.
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