This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on September 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org .
SOUTHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI — The training in northwest Mississippi that Cassandra Welchlin led was focused on get-out-the-vote efforts, but the longtime community organizer wanted to make space to sing.
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around …
“Come on, y’all!” Welchlin told the crowd of nearly 100, who joined in on the next verse. Turn me around …
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around. I’m gonna keep on walking, keep on talking, marching up to freedom lane …
“I am so happy to have y’all in the house,” she said at one point. “If y’all could see what I see.”
What Welchlin saw that August morning were the faces of Black women — and a lot of them. Their interests, varied and historically overlooked , are at the center of a new kind of intentional voter engagement training.