Last Monday, in an effort to rile up the young voters in Tallahassee, CNN analyst Angela Rye and FAMU alumnus Will Packer worked with FAMU’s Student Government Association to put on a political rally. It was star-studded and meant to encourage students to not only vote, but to vote for Andrew Gillum.
The event was free to the public had a celebrity lineup that could compete against both FAMU and FSU’s homecoming lineup put together. In the days leading up to the event, we saw many celebrities posting a promotional video for the event that excited many people, especially students in Tallahassee. The chilling video had FAMU’s infamous marching band, The Marching 100, playing in the background as different celebrities showed up. Celebrities like Diddy, Rhianna, Monica, DJ Khaled and many more began to re-post the video, which hyped up everyone more.
On the day of the event, students were so excited that they lined up as early as 5:30 for the event at 8:30, hoping to get as close as possible. As the night continued, the line grew much longer and it was definitely a successful event. As the doors opened, students rushed to get as close as possible to the celebrities and the energy began to rise. Angela Rye, a political activist who has always been vocal in her efforts to elect black politicians, started the night off alongside Will Packer, an FAMU alumnus who is also very respected. The two encouraged the students, to get out there and make their vote count by bringing it home for Andrew Gillum.
Courtesy: Andrew Gillum’s Instagram
Throughout the night, students got the opportunity to hear from an amazing line up of celebrities who understood the importance of Andrew Gillum becoming the next Governor of Florida. In a state that swings so often, these amazing people felt like it was their mission to encourage us Tallahassee students to do our civic duty and vote the next day. It came as no surprise that Andrew Gillum, a forever Rattler, also shared words with us alongside his beautiful wife R. Jai. After that, we enjoyed words and performances from Diddy, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Monica, Gunna, Quavo and even Tiffany Haddish. It was encouraging to see people who don’t even live in Florida backing a man that has already made such a difference in the state.
Overall, the rally was a great way to encourage students to vote. While the count is still out on who our next Governor will be, moments like this can truly remind people of the impact that a single vote can have and how important it is to go out and vote.