The Institute for Common Power
We are dedicated to illuminating undervalued, pivotal aspects of our collective history as we focus on the histories of marginalized groups.
We catalyze people to action. We are committed to voting justice and the dismantling of racism.
06/12/2026
“Now the political situation in Mississippi has been a corrupt politician paradise or utopia, which I will explain after I shall have given a few statistics. First of all, Mississippi has a population, according to the last U.S. census, of 2,178,914, of which 986,707 are Negroes and 1,188,429 are whites. There are approximately 400,000 voters in Mississippi, and of that total some 22,000 or less are Negroes. There are 13 counties in Mississippi where there are no Negro registered voters at all. Included in this number are persons of the Negro group with A.B., B.S., M.A. degrees who are teaching government, civics, and courses necessary to the development of the total individual, but even they are denied the right to vote. There are 12 more counties with less than 10 registered voters; 29 counties with less than 100 Negro voters; 16 counties with less than 500 voters ; 5 counties with more than 500, but less than 1000 voters; and 7 counties with more than 1000 but less than 5000 voters.
I am reminded here of one of the Negro schools in the Mississippi Delta where the superintendent called in the instructor in social science and told him to skip over the chapter in government which dealt with voting.”
Medgar Evers
06/10/2026
Join Institute Director, Dr. Terry Anne Scott, for a lecture this Thursday!
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/juneteenth-and-america-at-250-the-history-and-why-it-matters-today-tickets-1990803432658?aff=oddtdtcreator
It’s not too late, join us for our Banned Book Club meeting today at 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST!
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The battle to win the 1965 Voting Rights Act came to a head in the spring of 1965 in Selma, Alabama. Black people, endured violence, impossible, literacy, test, shorter hours available at courthouses to register, intimidation, lynching, and more when simply registering to vote.
This is an attack of civil rights activist Reverend CT Vivian outside of the Dallas County courthouse in Selma. Sheriff Jim, Clark and his posse attacked Black people who were simply attempting to register to vote. Reverend Vivian‘s words at the end of the clip ring true today.
Eyes on the Prize, Episode Six
The right to vote has forever been a struggle in America. Everyday Americans have always been the footsoldiers. Now it’s our time.
LIVE ON THE GROUND IN SELMA + MONTGOMERY, AL
Sunday, June 7, 2026
Join us on Zoom!
The Institute for Common Power
We have entered waters that are horribly familiar in the United States. The assault on the voting rights of African Americans and other People of Color never stops. From Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy to racial segregation and terror lynching to George Wallace and Massive Resistance against civil rights to Donald Trump and MAGA, it’s all part of the same through line. The Supreme Court’s recent Callais decision gutting the Voting Rights Act is horrible. But in knowing our history, and with resolve and strategy today, we march forward.
As democracy footsoldiers have done forever, we are not going to let anyone turn us around in our fight for what should be the most Common Power for All Citizens in American Democracy: The Right to Vote.
Join us for four hours of learning, inspiration, and determination with heroes past, present, and forward, live from sacred sites that drove us to the most important small-d democratic piece of legislation in American history: the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now we march.
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Bayard Rustin is a civil rights icon. A member of the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation (precursor to Freedom Rides), co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and co-organizer of the March and Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Ruston was openly gay at the time. We honor Rustin’s incredible courage and commitment to justice.
05/29/2026
It is with great pleasure that I announce the Institute for Common Power’s years long endeavor to educate people on voter suppression and voter empowerment. We have completed an anthology designed to educate and inspire! It is a coffee table book that is both beautiful and intellectually stimulating. It will appeal to people from middle school to adulthood. Please add your name to the list so we can alert you when it is ready to purchase. ALL profits from the book to support our work with educators who stand on the frontlines of safeguarding truth.
The volume is edited by Dr. Terry Anne Scott, Victoria Elias, and Dr. Devon Geary. It includes contributions by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Dr. Keisha N. Blain, Dr. Yohuru Williams, Bob Zellner, and more.
Sign up here to be notified when the volume is available for purchase: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIZfa9vfcbQ9bGv67AGtbg3C5q-ZYXFY5ErsToDsX370PZ7Q/viewform?usp=header
Application Deadline: June 1, 2026 is quickly approaching! Apply now!
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE INSPIRATIONAL IN HISTORY with Dr. Terry Anne Scott. Welcome to our new series about what happened this day in history. Dr. Scott, Director of the Institute for Common Power, will link history to today as she works to historicize our modern world and inspire us to create change in the process.
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