Eastern’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will host an event Wednesday to discuss the 2020 Presidential Election.

NAACP’s “Let’s Talk About Politics” virtual event on Zoom will be like its weekly meetings, but it is open to the public.

Rather than having a speaker or a presenter to talk to attendees, the event will focus on the members and guests in a discussion-based setting.

After a particularly controversial and drawn-out election, tension and stress levels are high for many people. Meeting in a neutral, supportive space to talk about those feelings can serve to relieve them.

Sihile Mwalongo, a junior economics major and current president of Eastern’s NAACP, said the group wanted to offer an opportunity for people to voice how they have been feeling.

“We feel like a lot of people had a lot to say about this election, so we are giving them the opportunity to talk and express themselves,” Mwalango said. “It’s a safe space for everyone regardless of what political side you are on, but we ask that you respect one another, and since we give a voice to minorities, we ask that their voices are heard and respected.”

While the event will begin by focusing on the election itself, Mwalango expects to discuss many of the adjacent issues that attendees could be concerned about.

These may include the anxiety that comes with such a high-stakes election, the real or perceived threats discussed across the country, the events which happened during the election and how the election was handled publicly by both the government and news sources.

Now that the election results are in and a President-elect has been announced, Mwalango said he hopes the group will have a constructive conversation about everything that happened.

“We know the importance of hearing different points of view, so we really hope to see people who normally don’t come to our events show up tomorrow because this election was so impactful, so there is much we can discuss and highlight,” Mwalango said. “Especially as the youth for many of us it was the first time voting, so we want to discuss all of it.”

“Let’s Talk About Politics” is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday via Zoom. The meeting ID is 932 2409 8192, and the password is 383040.

Luke Taylor can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].