Mississippi MOVE

Mississippi MOVE (Motivating & Organizing Voters for Empowerment) started in 2004 as a coalition of community-based organizations that advocates for self-empowerment through voting. The group has since reorganized into an independently operated, nonpartisan organization with the same objective – increasing participation in the American democratic process through voter registration drives, education on issues and addressing community needs. Through programs such as Roll to the Polls, My Freedom My Vote and the Move the Vote tour, MS MOVE educates the community on the importance of voting in determining community and individual outcomes; registers and delivers residents to the polls on election day and hosts watch parties after the polls close. In 2021, the group launched Freedom Summer to train the next generation of community leaders. The program is modeled after the Freedom Summer Project of 1964 where trained volunteers risked death to travel to Mississippi to register voters. 

MS MOVE operates statewide, promoting the power of the vote to address myriad challenges in a state that consistently falls at or near the bottom on lists ranking social, economic, educational, medical and environmental outcomes. In addition to its voting initiatives, the organization has become a one-stop shop in Tougaloo to address pressing community needs. With no paid staff, MS MOVE deploys dedicated volunteers and partners to help tackle the needs of the homeless, sound the alarm about the effects of climate change and provide aid in the aftermath of severe weather. With residents having faced weather swings in recent years from droughts to flooding to arctic blasts, the group distributes information on disaster preparedness and teaches self-sufficiency tactics such as growing produce and storing water in case of emergencies. To address immediate post-disaster needs, MS MOVE rolls around the state in a generator-powered, lighted trailer distributing water to those in need.

For more information:

Mississippi MOVE hosts Columbia voter registration drive – WDAM-7, December 2023

Here’s how you can get a ride to the polls in Mississippi – WJTV, November 2023