NAACP Launches National Town Halls to Mobilize Black Voters for 2026
The NAACP is kicking off a series of town halls this week aimed at energizing Black voters more than a year before the 2026 midterm elections.
"It may still seem far away, but the 2026 midterm elections will determine whether our democracy still holds on or whether the people surrender their power to a king," NAACP President Derrick Johnson shared in a statement to CBS News. "So, from our perspective, as the NAACP, it's clear: we've got to start organizing early."
Johnson described this as “an urgent moment,” citing recent rollbacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, immigration enforcement raids, and sweeping budget cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs as “attacks on democracy.” The town halls will examine the administration’s policies and their impact on African American communities.
The first event takes place on Tuesday in New Jersey, featuring Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Rep. LaMonica McIver, and other local leaders. Earlier this year, the Justice Department charged McIver with allegedly assaulting a federal officer during a protest outside a Newark ICE detention center. She has pleaded not guilty. Baraka was charged with misdemeanor trespassing at the same protest, but that charge was later dropped.
The town halls will focus on national and local issues while promoting civic engagement through volunteer recruitment, grassroots organizing, and door-to-door outreach.
"As we build toward the 2026 midterm election, our campaign will focus on connecting past liberation struggles to the urgent demands of the present," said Wisdom Cole, the NAACP's Senior National Director of Advocacy.
The NAACP invested $20 million in the 2024 presidential election, mobilizing more than 14.5 million Black voters.
The town halls come amid contentious redistricting battles. Texas Democrats recently left the state in protest of a new congressional map they say will increase Republican seats and weaken minority voting power. California is considering its own redistricting changes in response.
Future NAACP town halls are planned for Texas, California, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, New York, and Maryland.
