Jermaine Dupri Says He Wants America to Vote Like Atlanta Does

Jermaine Dupri told us years ago to call him “The Mayor.” Today the pioneering So So Def Recordings producer, entertainment mogul and proud vegan is getting political.

“I don’t look at myself as a political person or politician,” he said in a phone interview. “I look at myself as a landmark.”

Dupri credits being from Atlanta for his own political knowledge and activity. He says his pride comes from knowing he prompted a lot of people to move to Atlanta since the 1990s. And he says other cities could learn a lot from ATL when it comes to understanding that all politics is local.

“Anybody who feels like voting doesn’t work, I tell them, look at Atlanta. Use Atlanta as an example.”

Dupri praises the work of former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, whose impact on Atlanta’s economy is evident when it comes to African-American participation in the city’s economy, especially the economic advantages associated with having the world’s busiest airport.

“I use the Maynard Jackson blueprint as an example to anybody that’s from a different city. Since Maynard Jackson, it’s been nothing but Black mayors, and it’s created this movement.

“From that point on,” he says, “Atlanta started voting and paying attention to who was our next mayor because this mayor was so important to the city. Throughout the years of me growing up in all of this, I always heard people say, ‘I’m gonna move to Atlanta; Black people live comfortably in Atlanta.’

“But it’s not just in the air that we went like that. People voted and made Atlanta the city to be in.”

Still, Dupri insists voting isn’t simply a Black or White thing.

“We do the unheard of by voting. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat, I feel it’s important that you vote, period.”

JD is teaming up with Impossible Foods for a national initiative called VoteNik: Zoom to the Polls, which starting tomorrow will hold weekly chats with community and business leaders, Jermaine’s celebrity friends, and social organizations, in order to explain the importance of voting and promote voter turnout. Atlanta restaurant Slutty Vegan is also involved.

And lest you forget, JD was getting his vegan on long before the recent wave. Not only does he follow a plant-based diet, but he also writes a regular column on veganism for The Beet, a media platform whose content is specific to veganism and healthier eating habits.

Jessica Appelgren, an Impossible Foods vice president, says the plant-based foods company is excited to be involved with this social agenda.

“There’s no better way to affect the way that you want your community and your country to run than voting. So it made absolute sense to go full-on into a voting initiative with Pinky (Cole, founder of Slutty Vegan) and Jermaine, and do everything we could to put our brand platform behind this historic moment,” Appelgren said in a phone interview.

“Really the hope is just to drive as much turnout on November 3 as possible.”

We at The Churn also strongly believe in voting, which is why we’re giving you a reminder that casting an election ballot is more than just your constitutional right — it’s your civic responsibility.

We swear we too don’t care who you vote for, at least as a staff of people. Individually, of course, we probably have thoughts and opinions. But as The Churn and Butter ATL, we just want you involved.

So since we’re almost a month away from the general election, and some important deadlines are approaching, we’re putting some resources in front of you, right now, to help you get to the polls in time to be counted.

Axios put together a great resource for mail voting in all 50 states, with deadlines for requesting absentee ballots and other critical dates.

You can also see how many days before the election you have to register to vote in your state here at the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.

If you’d rather just see the actual final date for registering to vote in your state — which, if you live in Florida, is next week — you can find that easily at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Here in Georgia we have the My Voter Page, where you can pull up your voting status online.

But let’s say you haven’t yet moved to Atlanta or one of the surrounding satellite cities, and you’re not 100-percent sure you’re to the good.

Our friends at Spelman College put together this handy nonpartisan guide to voting information, with a video hosted by alumna Stacey Abrams (‘95).

And we’d be pretty wack if we didn’t salute the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg , 27-year Supreme Court justice and game-changing pioneer of women’s rights, who passed away this past weekend. Rest in peace, Notorious RBG.