Getting Out the Vote in Memphis

NEA member, high school media concepts teacher, and radio host Stan Bell had folks rocking the vote at the Memphis Education Association’s “Get Out the Vote-Support Public Education” musical rally, held in historic W.C. Handy Park last Saturday afternoon. Bell, who has been involved in radio broadcast since the ‘80s, provided musical entertainment and commentary at the event.

“It takes a little more to get people who are just hanging out to come over and register,” said MEA UniServ representative Susanne Jackson, one of the event’s coordinators.
And that “little more” was Bell, according to Jackson, who spun tunes, led chants, and participated in an informal dialogue with MEA President Stephanie Fitzgerald to encourage invited guests, park regulars, and passers-by to both register to vote and turnout on Election Day.

NEA’s Education Votes traveling billboard even showed up to help the cause.
Thirteen new voters were registered, thanks to the hard work of Bell and the rally’s sponsors, the Tennessee Education Association, Shelby County Education Association, and Tipton County Education Association.

Bell said that by participating he hoped to share the same encouragement he gives to his students in the classroom, where he often discusses the importance of serving the public interest.

“I try to be a motivator and tell them this is a historic election, no matter who they vote for,” he says.

When he’s not teaching or attending rallies, Bell hosts the “Old Skool Drive @ Five” after school on weekdays as Stan “The Bell Ringer” Bell on KJMS-FM, an adult urban, contemporary station in Memphis.

By Erica Addison