NAACP marks America’s 250th birthday with record $20 million campaign to mobilize millions of Black voters

The civil rights organization says its largest-ever midterm investment aims to reach 6.5 million Black voters across 14 states.

The NAACP is marking the 250th anniversary of the United States with a major political push, announcing plans to pour $20 million into a “get out the vote” campaign ahead of November’s midterm elections. In a statement released July 6, the organization described the effort as its largest ever investment in a midterm cycle, framing it as a direct response to what it calls a moment of urgency for voting rights and democracy.

According to the NAACP, the campaign will be carried out in partnership with GSSA and aims to recruit 20,000 volunteers to mobilize 6.5 million Black voters across 14 states and 33 congressional districts. The organization tied the scale of the investment to recent Supreme Court rulings it says weakened the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to racial gerrymandering across the South.

Leaders within the organization did not mince words about what they see as the stakes. Dominik Whitehead, the NAACP’s Chief of Field, Membership Growth and Unit Sustainability, pointed to a series of actions by the Trump administration, including attempts to alter the 14th Amendment and redraw electoral maps, as central motivations. He described the midterms as a chance “to not only put a stop to Trump’s madness, but to advance policies that serve the people, not just the billionaire class.”

The announcement builds on more than a year of groundwork. As the NAACP noted, the group launched a national series of town halls roughly 14 months before the election, spanning states like Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin. It has also pursued an aggressive legal strategy, filing suits over what it describes as illegal election related executive orders and challenging gerrymandered maps in Tennessee, Missouri and Texas.

The organization highlighted a recent court victory that blocked the USPS from implementing a mail-in voting order, along with interventions in several states over voter data disputes.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson connected the timing of the launch to the country’s milestone anniversary. “We’re launching this campaign on our nation’s 250th anniversary, and investing more than we’ve ever invested in a midterm cycle, because this is a pivotal moment for our democracy,” he said, adding that the country’s future should “serve the people, and not the wealthy at the top.”

The NAACP is also a member of the Next250 coalition, a national movement using the anniversary to reimagine the nation’s future.