Chicago’s millennials are making their voices heard in this election. After the success of Chance the Rapper’s one-day music festival, Magnificent Coloring Day, the nonprofit he cofounded the same month, SocialWorks, is hosting a get-out-the-vote event on Monday afternoon that includes a free rooftop concert atop the Wabash and Lake entrance of the Virgin Hotel (203 N. Wabash).

For this event, SocialWorks has partnered with music-and-lifestyle blog Prime Fortune and nonprofit Chicago Votes. I talked to leaders from each organization—Justin Cunningham, Kemdah Stroud, and Nicole Johnson—about the importance of rewriting the narrative for Chicago’s millennials of color.

Nicole Johnson, 27, outreach manager for Chicago Votes: If we can re-create that and reproduce that for the next [election] cycle—especially if we’re doing this early, in 2019—then this particular group of constituents and voters will have to be reckoned with and definitely approached by candidates. You’ll have to come correct or you gotta go. Like we said “Bye, Anita” [State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez], we’ll say bye to whoever else.

Can you tell me about the activities? I hear there will be an “interactive zone.” Cunningham: People should expect to communicate through the arts. Virgin Hotel is a really cool partner, because they’re allowing us to do some really crazy things with their space, such as having musical performances on top of their [roof] as well as creating interactive zones on their windowsills. We’re going to have artists paint some really cool things on their windows.

Cunningham: That’s why we partnered with BallotReady, who have this really cool consumer-style report on all the candidates where you can click different issues—health, environment, prolife—and filter through it based on your needs and what you want.

  1. Felons do not know that they can register to vote and vote. We’ve actually gotten quite a few people with felonies on their records registered to vote. They were told that they don’t have that right—and that’s not true. You can register same-day. All you need is a driver’s license and a social security card.