Voter engagement, democracy and the media’s role in shaping the upcoming Presidential election were highlighted through a Black lens during a recent panel titled When We Vote: Why It Matters.

The discussion on Wednesday at Union Chapel was part of the Charles Ogletree Public Forum Series, with journalists Wesley Lowry, Errin Haines, Michele Norris and Trymaine Lee as panelists.

Paula Madison, former NBCUniversal executive, moderated.

The event was sponsored by Hearst Television, National Association of Black Journalists and Report For America.

The evening began with Ms. Madison making a statement about incendiary comments former President Donald Trump made at the National Association of Black Journalists convention.

“I will share with you that I don’t know how a candidate could attend the convention of 4,400 Black journalists and think that we weren’t going to fact check in real time,” she said. “What I want you all to keep in mind is, as you all are pondering and wondering and asking questions and making up answers, that the truth of the matter is that we were dealing with a candidate who pretty often was not telling the truth.”

The conversation then turned to issues of voting, with Mr. Lee mentioning talks he has had with Black men about their voting decisions.

“[Black men] are missing in so many spaces and struggling to survive and support our families and so no wonder that’s also reflecting our political process and our political system, regardless of whether we talk about Republicans and Democrats,” he said.

Ms. Haines echoed the sentiment and said that for many, it’s not just about deciding between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

“There’s also a third candidate in this, and it’s called the couch and I’m not talking about JD Vance, but people who are staying home rather than participating because they don’t like either the candidates or they don’t feel like their life circumstances change no matter who the President of the United States is,” she said.

Ms. Norris urged journalists to continue to find ways to inform the public as the media landscape shifts.

“This is a very challenging moment largely because of social media, because of the diminution of legacy media,” she said. “We have become allergic to complexity in this country, and so everything is just quick...We have sort of a different rubric around journalism [now], and so for us, we have to figure out how to do long form journalism in a way that educates people and gives you a little bit of protein in your media diet.”

Mr. Lowry emphasized the difference between news and noise.

“I think we have to sit with the difference between news and information,” he said. “How do we, in this moment, make sure that we are providing depth of information and depth of concepts, that nuance, that complication, that rigor? It’s easier than ever to provide news, to provide noise. It’s a lot harder to go out and do that work.”

Everyone agreed that voting is essential, with Ms. Haines pointing the November’s election and saying that “democracy is on the ballot.”

“Yes, we have a race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, but this is literally an election about whether or not we have a democracy,” Ms. Haines said.

The Charles Ogletree Forum series continues at the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs on August 11 at 4 p.m. with The D9: Uniting Our Voices, Uniting Our Vote, and on August 14 at 4 p.m. at Union Chapel with DEI on a Divided America.

For more information, visit unionchapelinstitute.org/2024.