The Forsyth County Democratic Party's Communications Committee recently launched "Don't Boo, Vote!", a weekly Facebook Live series where one special guest is interviewed each week for the Facebook community. Each special guest is typically asked to give their take on a variety of political issues, anywhere from the economy to the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, host Jordan Lee provides his take on those political issues as well. This back and forth dialogue makes for must-watch live streamed content!

The Facebook Live weekly series has been fortunate already to have guests such as young political activist Drew Skilton, activist and precinct chair Kerry Peay, First Chair of the Democratic Women of NC Elizabeth Goodwin, Director of the Innocence and Justice Clinic at Wake Forest Law Mark Rabil, and FCDP Third Vice Chair, Jon McLamb. We have also been fortunate to have Sixth Congressional District Candidate Kathy Manning and Mayor Pro Tempore D.D. Adams. 

"Don't Boo, Vote!" airs every Sunday afternoon. This upcoming Sunday, we are interviewing Rhonda Foxx, former Sixth Congressional District candidate and chief of staff to Congressmember Alma Adams. After that, we have Quamekia Shavers, the president of the Young Democrats of Forsyth County!

If you are not able to watch at that time, no worries! All videos remain posted to our Facebook Page and are uploaded to our Youtube Channel, so you do not have to miss a single episode!

President Barack Obama, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, announced endorsements of 118 candidates in the United States. Of those 118 candidates, two were Forsyth County Democrats. Those two candidates are Terri LeGrand and Dan Besse.

Terri LeGrand is a candidate for state senate, and Dan Besse is a candidate for N.C. House of Representatives. Both candidates hope to win their respective seats, so that Democrats can gain control of the N.C. Legislature.

With the redistricting of the North Carolina legislative map for the 2020 general election, these districts have become more competitive for Demoracts to win. Some experts even say that winning these seats will ensure that one or both chambers of the NC General Assembly flip from red to blue. 

Congratulations, Terri and Dan! We cannot wait to vote for y'all this November!

On Monday, July 27, The Protecting Our Community Program team, along with Democrats from Precinct 504, handed out masks and hand sanitizers to the Forsyth County community at the Food Lion located at 1000 Waughton Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27107. These volunteers also took the opportunity to register new voters and sign up new volunteers.

Several auxiliaries of the Forsyth County Democratic Party were represented by members of their respective groups, including the African American Caucus of Forsyth County and the Progressive Democrats of Forsyth County. Candidate for District Judge, Whit Davis, also volunteered at this event. As always, Kerry Peay, the founder of the Protecting Our Community Program, was in attendance.

A special thanks to Progressive Democrats Vice Chair, Cheryl Malaguti, and the Progressive Democrats Treasurer, Gabe Malaguti, for securing the Food Lion as the location for voter outreach and mask giveaways. We would also like to thank Ellen Lowdermilk for showing her support by bringing the volunteers baked goods. 

If you are a precinct leader and would like to set up a Protecting Our Community Program event in your precinct, please email the Progressive Democrats at fcprogress@yahoo.com. Here are some photos for the event:

The Forsyth County Democratic Party has made tremendous progress in reaching folks in the community over the past few months. This election year, the emphasis has been placed on our phone banking efforts, since it allows for political activism from the safety of our homes. Here are some of the highlights of these phone banking efforts: 

• FCDP has recruited over 100 new volunteers through phonebanking.
• Precinct 902 has completed their phonebank.
• Precinct 122, one of the most important precincts due to the high number of Democrats in it, has completed about 50% of its phonebank. 
• Gull Riaz, a member of FCDP and candidate for County Commissioner, has personally made over 600 calls!!

Thank you everyone for your efforts so far. If you would like to join our phone banking efforts, sign up for phonebank training here: ​https://www.mobilize.us/forsythcountydems/ 

Over the past few months, the Forsyth County Democratic Party's Communications Committee has been hard at work, providing necessary information to those in the Forsyth community and beyond. No group has been working harder than the Graphics Design team.

The Graphic Design team currently consists of three members: Olivia Santiago, Ryan Howard, and Todd Echols. During their time on the team, they have created graphic design templates, enhanced our current portfolio of graphics, and created unique and fun graphics for use in delivering FCDP content. When asked why they volunteer for the Forsyth County Democratic Party Communications Committee, here is what they said:

Olivia Santiago: "[I am] a young entrepreneur that volunteers to help create pathways for the new generation. The Forsyth County Democratic Party is one of my outlets!"

Ryan Howard: "I was excited to help spread the messages that matter most across our party and believe the Dem platform lends itself to the progressive changes our country needs. When I can, I like to help make seemingly complicated policies on voting information succinct, eye catching, and easy-to-digest."

Todd Echols: "I volunteer because I want to help elect Democratic leaders who will work to improve the lives of the people in Forsyth County."

Thank you for your hard work!

On Monday, June 29, the Forsyth County Democratic Party showed that the Democratic Party is the party of life. 

Several members of the Forsyth County Democratic Party provided masks and hand sanitizer to individuals in the Forsyth County community. They also handed out absentee vote by mail ballot request forms and spoke to these individuals about how important it is to vote in this year's election. Kerry Peay, the President of the Forsyth County Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, spearheaded the event, in conjunction with several other FCDP auxiliaries.The event took place outside of the FCDP Headquarters (1128 Burke Street).

This event was the first in a series where members of FCDP will be handing out masks and other supplies essential to surviving COVID-19, as part of the Protecting Our Community Initiative. If you would like to get involved, email the Forsyth County Progressive Democrats. Here are several photos from the event:

With 132 calls and 32 canvasses made this week, Shari Burrell is our Phonebank Champion of the week! 

​Here is a statement that Shari wrote, explaining why she believes in phonebanking:

"Because we could not have more at stake and limited ways to reach out to people, I will be phonebanking every week. If I am to be honest, this has always been my least favorite thing to do. However, over the course of these last three weeks, I have had many wonderful conversations. People very much appreciate our efforts to reach out to them, to get them forms, to let them know how they can vote safely, to hear their concerns, as well as, their resolve to stand in line as an act of resistance to voter suppression. Even though the majority of calls are not answered, the connections we do make are vital. They build a necessary foundation to our democracy. I will continue to reach out to our voters and ask each of you to join our effort."

If you would like to get involved in our phonebanking efforts, start by signing up for phonebank training. Since May 19, the Forsyth County Democratic Party has held 20 trainings and trained 120 unique individuals.

Gull Riaz is this week's Phonebank Champion. Gull made a total of 283 calls and 52 canvasses to Forsyth County residents this week, urging them to register to vote and request Vote By Mail request forms. When asked about the secret to his success, Gull replied, "the secret to my success is the enjoyment in voter outreach, talking with many different people from Forsyth County within my nearby precincts!"

The efforts by Gull and many more volunteers will make Democrats successful in November. If you would like to phonebank for the Forsyth County Democratic Party, start by signing up for one of our phonebank trainings! Sign up today: https://www.mobilize.us/forsythcountydems/ 

Young Democrats of Forsyth County president, Quamekia Shavers, remains committed to community activism, even in the midst of the difficult times facing Forsyth County. 

In recent weeks, Quamekia has taken the lead on several notable events to address police brutality in the Forsyth County community and beyond. On June 3, Quamekia, along with The Pride Show and LGBTQ Democrats of Forsyth County organizations, facilitated a protest in opposition to recent police brutality around the United States. This "Peace for ALL Protest" embodied nearly 200 participants and elected officials all marching from the Benton Convention Center to the Winston-Salem Public Safety building in solidarity for this cause. Quamekia said that, to her, "the protest was about making history, creating change, and protecting future generations."

Quamekia has also recently joined several Forsyth County Democratic candidates to discuss the issues facing Forsyth County. On June 10, Quamekia joined State Senate candidate, Terri LeGrand, on Facebook Live to discuss the police brutality aftermath and plan the strategy to keep the Black Lives Matter agenda moving forward. And on June 12, She sat down with Forsyth County Commissioner candidate, Chris Smith, in a conversation about the Black Lives Matter Movement and helping erase systemic racism.

Quamekia continues to shine in the Forsyth County Democratic Party through showing tremendous leadership and character. That's why she is our Good News Democrats story of the week! Here are some photos from her recent events:

On June 3, the Young Democrats of Forsyth County and Forsyth County LGBTQ Caucus sponsored a peaceful protest in downtown Winston-Salem. The event included a march and a stop along the route in the shade of the trees at the Winston-Salem Police Department to hear from elected officials, including Police Chief Catrina Thompson, who gave a passionate and inspiring speech.

Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, who had also marched with the group, spoke as well about his desire to come back to Winston-Salem and serve his hometown community - and his commitment to justice in law enforcement.

Councilmen Dan Besse and Jeff MacIntosh along with candidate for District Court Judge, Whit Davis, also marched with the group and spoke to the crowd.

We also were able to register some new voters at the event - Arnita Miles staffed a voter registration table. As well, we shared the importance of requesting absentee mail-in ballots and handed out ballot request forms to many protestors. 

Many thanks to Quamekia Shavers, president of the Young Dems, and Katie Rogers, president of the LGBTQ Caucus, for creating an event that was positive, peaceful and family-friendly. 


Here are photos from the protest: