MC Lyte and Samantha Ronson Co-Curate a Playlist for Planned Parenthood Action Fund to Encourage Women to Vote
For Immediate Release: Oct. 31, 2014
The playlist is on Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Spotify channel which can be accessed here.
NEW YORK, NY – With the election less than a week away, Planned Parenthood Action Fund has released a special playlist of 20 songs co-curated by Rapper MC Lyte and DJ Samantha Ronson to motivate and inspire supporters to get out the vote this Election Day. This playlist is the first featured on the Action Fund’s new Spotify channel and is part of the Women are Watching political campaign to ensure women are aware of what’s at stake for them in the upcoming election and vote in support of the candidates that will stand up and fight for them.
The playlist is available on Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Spotify channel which can be accessed here.
"Women of color are pivotal in determining the outcome of this election. I know how important it is to empower my community to get out the vote and what better way to do that than with my favorite female powered music tracks?” said MC Lyte. “Working in a male dominated field, I’ve never succumbed to pressure because of my gender and I’m certainly not going to start by letting politicians have a say in what I do with my body this Election Day. And neither should you.”
“People might not think of me as a political person but when our rights are on the ballot, I can't sit back. Making this playlist to help get out the vote was a no brainer for me,” said Samantha Ronson. “Supporting women's health issues is just common sense but incorporating music to do so is a really exciting idea. The more it helps motivate people to get off their asses and get to the polls, the better.”
MC Lyte and Samantha Ronson are not the only celebrities lending their efforts to the Women are Watching campaign. Scarlett Johansson, Gabrielle Union, Selenis Leyva, Natasha Lyonne, and Lena Dunham all designed limited-edition T-shirts for the Action Fund, highlighting the key issues for women in this election. Lena Dunham also just shared a collage of her and a host of celebrity friends showing their support for Planned Parenthood Action Fund by sporting their “Lena [heart] Planned Parenthood” T-shirts on her Instagram account.
The outcome of this election could determine control of the U.S. Senate and the makeup of other key offices across the country. Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s message to voters is simple: every vote counts. You can’t complain about the state of things if you don’t get out and vote — like the fact that women still make on average 78 cents to every dollar that a man makes. Or the fact that more than half of all American women ages 18 to 34 report having struggled with the cost of birth control. Or the fact that more than half of American women of reproductive age now live in states where access to abortion is being restricted by their state legislatures.
- When it comes to registration rates for midterm elections, youth rates dropped from 56 percent in 2002 to 49 percent in the 2010 midterm.
- When it comes to actual voter turnout among young registered voters,almost four out of five registered youth voted in the 2012 presidential election, but less than half voted in the previous midterm election.
- In the 2012 presidential election at least 80 electoral votes depended on the youth vote and in 2008 the youth vote made the difference in at least 3 key states.
Learn more about the Women are Watching campaign here: http://womenarewatching.org
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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.