Think Out Loud

Portland nonprofit engages with Black voters through community events

By Gemma DiCarlo (OPB)
April 22, 2026 4:38 p.m.

Broadcast: Wednesday, April 22

FILE - A worker places a ballot into the box at a drop-off location in downtown Salem, Ore., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

FILE - A worker places a ballot into the box at a drop-off location in downtown Salem, Ore., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

Natalie Pate / OPB

With ballots for Oregon’s primary election scheduled to go out next week, civic organizations are working to get out the vote. Imagine Black, based in Portland, aims to engage voters through community events, rather than mailers or door-to-door canvassing. The nonprofit is holding a basketball benefit next month with community leaders and elected officials ahead of primary Election Day, May 19.

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Joy Alise Davis is the executive director of Imagine Black. She joins us to talk about voter burnout in Portland’s Black communities and how her organization hopes to make voting exciting again.

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THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: