WS Chronicle

According to reports, 61% of Forsyth County voters participated in either early or absentee voting. To encourage those who waited until election day to cast their votes, the Alpha Pi Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. passed out meals at the Forsyth Technical Community College polling location.

The brothers of the Alpha Pi Lambda chapter have been visible throughout the election season. Their mission has been to help get information to the people about the importance of voting.

“We have been doing things for several months to help people get out and vote,” said Alpha Phi Alpha member, Allan Younger.  

Younger said the chapter partnered with an organization named Black Votes Matter who provided them with grant funds. They used the funds to feed voters as well as placing individuals at polling locations to ensure the safety of the voters.

Younger stated his organization felt very strongly about voting, especially with how volatile the social climate has been this year.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people feel like somehow it’s going to be used against them if they vote in a particular way,” he said. “One of the things we feel strongly about is that everyone understands that they have a voice, and their voice is often demonstrated with their vote.

“Every vote counts, so whether you’re talking about people running for local office, statewide office or for national office, it’s important that everybody does the research and figures out who thinks the way that they think about providing solutions to the problems they see in society.”

Being out in the community has been a commitment from the local Alpha chapter and the organization as a whole.

A lot of people have negative ideas about every organization in our community, so it’s important that all of us rally around positive things to not only to see how valuable it is to vote, but also see there are a bunch of organizations that care about what’s best for others in society,” Younger continued.  

“Our organization, since the ‘30s, has been focused on voting and people having opportunities to vote. And although people were trying to keep them from voting, we tried to encourage them to vote, but also keep them protected. Throughout this county, we have been setting up shop and making sure people know that people are looking out for them.”

Younger said the people they interacted with at the Forsyth Tech location have been in “pretty good spirits” and some have even stayed to converse with them about their voting experience.

Younger stated he will be watching the results of the election and is hopeful the nation stays peaceful, no matter the winner.

“I am definitely going to stay tuned in to see what the results are, and I want to see what the reactions to the results are,” said Younger. “There are some people that are going to be very happy and some people that are not going to be happy, but I hope everyone chooses to say, the person I voted for didn’t win, but I still love America and I am going to make sure that it’s the best it can be. That’s what I hope people are going to do.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be surprised if people act out their frustrations in various ways, so my hope is that no one gets hurt, nobody feels threatened, nobody feels like they can’t do what they need to do next because of the outcome of the elections.”

Another point of emphasis for the chapter was the importance of the local elections and how they impact those in the community firsthand. Younger says it’s a great thing to have access to the local elected officials about any issue or concern he has.

“One of the things I think is really cool about Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is, if you want to, you have the opportunity to meet and interact with any local official, because they make themselves available,” he continued. “They want to know what people think and what are the challenges that aren’t being addressed, or how we can address them differently, so I pay just as much, if not more, attention to the local elections than the federal elections.”