MIAMI-DADE ALPHAS, AKAS HOST “PHIRST PHAMILY” VOTER REG BLITZ ON SEPT. 22

MIAMI-DADE ALPHAS, AKAS HOST “PHIRST PHAMILY” VOTER REG BLITZ ON SEPT. 22 MIAMI – September 13, 2012 – Miami’s two oldest black Greek-letter organizations are joining forces to register hundreds of voters in time for the November general election. Their target: local beauty and barber shops. The ladies of Gamma Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the men of Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity have teamed to conduct a “Phirst Phamily” voter registration blitz. They will target dozens of shops throughout the county beginning 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. The groups also will hold registration and other services at Walgreen’s Pharmacy, 6200 NW Seventh Avenue in Liberty City. The name of the blitz is derived from the historical status of the two organizations – Alpha Phi Alpha, founded in 1906, is the oldest Greek-letter organization; Alpha Kappa Alpha, founded in 1908, is the oldest sorority of its kind. Beta Beta Lambda Chapter entered the Miami area in 1937, while Gamma Zeta Omega Chapter was chartered in 1940. Members of both organizations will visit various barber shops and beauty salons throughout Miami-Dade County to reach eligible individuals who need to register to vote. Members also will register voters in at the pharmacy. Representatives from the Miami-Dade Public Defenders Office will provide information to individuals who are interested rights restoration. Vanessa Woodard Byers, chair of the sorority’s civic engagement committee, said an aim of the blitz is to make ground on registration numbers that were adversely impacted by legislative changes that could have penalized third-party groups. “We lost some ground, but we are determined to capture as many people as possible by the Oct. 9 deadline,” Byers said. The drive is rooted in an urge to empower Miami’s black community, said Anderson “Thin” Eldridge, Beta Beta Lambda president. “A voteless people is a hopeless people,” he said. The public is invited to help with registration, and to bring out family and friends who need to get registered. For more information call 786.314.1106, or email us at novotenohope@gmail.com, or via Twitter @gammazetaomega.