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The New Georgia Project aims to reach 1 million residents – one door at a time

By Courtney Dorning,
Mary Louise Kelly, Kira Wakeam, Erika Ryan, Alejandra Marquez Janse
Published September 18, 2024 at 5:56 PM EDT

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

In Atlanta, where scenes like this are unfolding every day.

(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING ON DOOR)

KELLY: That's Nassir McWilliams (ph), age 20, out door-knocking, trying to talk to voters. He gets lucky maybe every 10 houses or so, like this one.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NASSIR MCWILLIAMS: Hey, how's it going?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I'm pretty good (ph).

MCWILLIAMS: I hope I'm not bothering you too much.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: No, that's all right.

MCWILLIAMS: My name's Nassir.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Nice to meet you, hi.

MCWILLIAMS: I'm canvassing with the New Georgia Project Action Fund.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: OK.

MCWILLIAMS: I'm on your block talking to voters because we're in a critical election year, and your vote could make all the difference.

KELLY: We are in Atlanta's Washington Park neighborhood, close to downtown. McWilliams is canvassing, as you heard, for the New Georgia Project. That is a nonprofit that works to build civic engagement among historically marginalized communities. They estimate they have knocked on more than 400,000 doors so far this election year. The goal? One million.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MCWILLIAMS: I've got some literature for you. I won't talk your ear off, but my question to you is, can we count on your vote this year?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes, we are voting. This is a voting house.

MCWILLIAMS: That's what I like to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Thank you.

MCWILLIAMS: Thank you so much, and enjoy your day.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You as well. Thank you so much.

MCWILLIAMS: Yes, sir.

KELLY: The pamphlets Nassir McWilliams is tucking inside screen doors bear the quote, "we have a chance to elect our first Black woman president, and I want to be part of history," end quote. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Courtney Dorning
Courtney Dorning has been a Senior Editor for NPR's All Things Considered since November 2018. In that role, she's the lead editor for the daily show. Dorning is responsible for newsmaker interviews, lead news segments and the small, quirky features that are a hallmark of the network's flagship afternoon magazine program.
See stories by Courtney Dorning
Mary Louise Kelly
Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.
See stories by Mary Louise Kelly
Kira Wakeam
Erika Ryan
Erika Ryan is a producer for All Things Considered. She joined NPR after spending 4 years at CNN, where she worked for various shows and CNN.com in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Ryan began her career in journalism as a print reporter covering arts and culture. She's a graduate of the University of South Carolina, and currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her dog, Millie.
Alejandra Marquez Janse
Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.