NextGen America Launches Men-Focused Campaign to Celebrate 4/20 and Earth Day

The new campaign, Men’s Voter Power, or ‘MVP,’ will focus on mobilizing young Black and Brown men

Washington, D.C. — On Saturday, April 20, NextGen America will launch their new campaign, ‘MVP,’ or Men’s Voter Power, aimed at educating and mobilizing Black and Brown men. The campaign will coincide with Green Week, which celebrates the holidays of 4/20 and Earth Day. Green Week will include a series of advocacy actions focused on addressing the climate crisis, legalizing marijuana, and expunging federal cannabis convictions.

The MVP campaign is combatting consistent data and polling which demonstrates a lack of civic engagement from young men of color. The campaign’s outreach is based on poll-tested messaging, and is educating men on the issues they care about most, like economic justice, marijuana legalization, the climate crisis, voting rights, and attacks on civil and human rights. Ultimately, the MVP campaign aims to increase voter registration and increase turnout among Black and Latino men.

“In our mission to build a democracy that reflects us and represents us, educating and mobilizing young men of color is essential,” NextGen America Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Harry Johnson said. “Black and Brown men are disproportionately excluded from voter outreach and initiatives, and our MVP program is leveraging innovative strategies and collaborating with musicians, athletes, and community leaders to close that gap and activate as many young men as possible. Green Week is a natural way to engage young men as it addresses issues many are passionate about, like climate justice, marijuana legalization, and criminal justice reform, but it’s just the start of our work to energize and educate this critical voting bloc to build a better future for us all.”

Other Green Week activities include an educational session on climate legislation: It’s Getting Hot In Here – Climate 101, as well an educational session on marijuana legalization: Let’s Get Blunt – Weed Legalization 101. NextGen field organizers will also be registering voters at Penn State’s EarthFest, among other events nationwide. NextGen is also directing young people to participate in various calls to action, like voicing support for legislation that expunges cannabis-related convictions and signing petitions advocating for climate action.

NextGen’s Green Week launch is a part of their 2024 youth-vote mobilization efforts across Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia that includes in-person and online organizing.

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About NextGen America
NextGen America is the leading national organization for engaging young people through voter education, registration and mobilization. We invite 18-to-35 year olds — the largest and most diverse generation in American history — into our democracy to ensure our government works for them and to find new solutions to the dire challenges facing our society and the world. Since 2013, NextGen America has registered more than 1.5 million young voters and contacted 9.6 million young eligible voters during the historic 2022 midterm elections.