This pancocojams post presents excerpts from several online articles about the decreasing popularity in the United States of the personal name "Donald".
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
That post includes information that the Disney animated cartoon and comic-book character "Donald Duck" first appeared in "Mickey Mouse" films in 1934. As indicated in Source #1 below, 1934 was the year that the name "Donald" achieved its highest ranking in the top 1000 names in the United States.
It seems likely to me that the main reason for the uptick in people giving the name "Donald" to their newborn sons in 1934 was people's increased familiarity with that name because of the Disney character "Donald Duck".
**** ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT THIS SUBJECT These sources are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.
SOURCE #1 From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald "Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived
from the Gaelic name Dòmhnall.[1] This comes from the Proto-Celtic *Dumno-ualos
("world-ruler" or "world-wielder").[2][3][4] The final -d
in Donald is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the Gaelic
pronunciation by English speakers. A short form of Donald is Don, and pet forms
of Donald include Donnie and Donny. The feminine given name Donella is derived
from Donald.[1]
[...]
Although the
feminine given name Donna is sometimes used as a feminine form of Donald, the
names are not etymologically related.[1]"... -snip- "The name Donna is an Italian feminine given name meaning
"lady" or "woman," originating from the classical Latin
word domina, which means "lady of the house" or "mistress" ". [from AI Overview]
" “Donald” is the nation’s 690th most popular baby name amid
the president’s return to the White House.
“Donald” peaked in popularity in 1934, when more than 30,400
American babies received the name, and remained within the top 100 through
1990. John McDonnell/AP
By Dave Levinthal, June 23, 2026
"President Donald Trump wants his name on most anything:
money, buildings, airports, warships, even the nation’s 250th anniversary
celebration.
But one item is increasingly out of reach: newborns.
In 2025, the baby name “Donald” hit its lowest point of
popularity in U.S. history, according to data maintained by the Social Security
Administration and reviewed by NOTUS.
The federal agency received fewer than 400 Social Security
card applications for baby Donalds last year, making “Donald” the nation’s
690th most popular baby name amid Trump’s return to the White House for a
second term
“Donald” peaked in popularity in 1934, when more than 30,400
American babies received the name, and remained within the top 100 through
1990.
But even as Trump’s notoriety in business, entertainment and
politics grew, the baby name “Donald” continued to decline, Social Security
Administration data indicates.
In 2004, when the first season of Trump’s hit television
show “The Apprentice” premiered, “Donald” had fallen to No. 263. In 2013, the
year World Wrestling Entertainment inducted Trump into its Hall of Fame,
“Donald” sat at No. 415.
And in 2016, when Trump won his first presidential term,
“Donald” sank to No. 489.
“Donald” did tick up a few notches in 2017, Trump’s first
year in office, but continued its nearly unabated free fall for the next eight
years, losing more than 200 popularity places by 2025."...
SHOCKINGLY, no one wants to name their baby “Donald”
anymore! The name has officially hit its lowest point in U.S. history 📉
According to data from the Social Security Administration,
less than 400 newborns were given the name over the last year.
That drops Donald all the way down to 690th on the nation’s
list of popular baby names.
To put that into perspective, the name peaked back in 1934
when more than 30,000 babies were named Donald. It comfortably held a spot in
the top 100 for over five decades. But over the last several years, the name
has seen an unprecedented, steady free-fall.
Even in Florida—a major political stronghold for the
President—parents only minted 21 baby Donalds last year. The name is now tied
in popularity with historical anomalies like "Abner" and
"Enoch," and it ranks entirely behind names like "Maximus"
and "Keanu."
Naming experts suggest that even die-hard supporters are
dodging the name simply because parents of all political stripes prefer to
avoid attaching massive, polarizing political discourse to a newborn.
Meanwhile, the First Lady’s name isn't seeing a boost
either. "Melania" briefly broke into the top 1,000 back in 2017, but
it hasn’t managed to crack the charts since.
It turns out that attaching a name to one of the most
polarizing figures in modern history is a surefire way to clear out the
maternity wards 🤪
This post is a reprint and update of the 2025 pancocojams post "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Rhymes That Aren't A Part Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky Rhymes".
This 2026 post includes the only comment that is found as of this date in that post's discussion thread. (I wrote that comment).
That 2025 post remains in this pancocojams blog. Visitor comments are welcome iregarding that post and regarding this 2026 post.
**** This pancocojams post presents examples from various online sources of "Mikey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't a part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes.
This post serves as a compilation of some examples of "Mickey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky". The link for that pancocojams post is given below.
This content is presented for folkloric, historical, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/donald-trumps-name-replaces-donald-duck.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Donald Trump's Name Replaces Donald Duck In A "Mickey
Mouse Built A House" Verse That Is Included In A 2021 "Down By The
Hanky Panky" Children's Rhyme". **** DISCLAIMER: This pancocojams compilation isn't meant to be a comprehensive documentation of "Mickey Mouse recreational rhymes.
**** For what it's worth, I've never came across any examples of these rhymes when I was directly collecting rhymes in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area from about the late 1980s to around 2006.
My direct collection efforts were almost always in predominately African American communities. I wonder if these "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes were/are chanted by African Americans in those communities or were/are chanted by African Americans elsewhere in the United States.
Please share any examples of these rhymes that you know with demographic information such as where (city, nation) and when (year/decade). Also, for the folkloric record, please also include the race/ethnicity of those who chanted these rhymes. Thanks in advance!
**** INFORMATION ABOUT THESE RECREATIONAL RHYMES "Mickey Mouse Built A House" (or "Had A House" or "Lived in A House", and similarly titled rhymes) are English language children's recreational rhymes that are found in the United States, The United Kingdom, Australia, and probably other English speaking countries.
The earliest examples of these rhymes that I've come across (as of 2026) appear to be from the 1950s (although the year 1936 is given in parenthesis for a citation that is given as Source #1 below, United Kingdom.)
The Mickey Mouse Club House television series began airing in 2006. As such, that television series wasn't the earliest source for these rhymes. However, it's very likely that that television series helped popularize these "Mickey Mouse built a house" recreational rhymes. My guess is that all or most of these "Mickey Mouse" rhymes were composed by children, but I'm not certain of that.
**** The primary source of these rhymes may have been the 1933 Disney cartoon "Building a Building" that featured Mickey Mouse and one of his early antagonist (villains) named Pete. This film pre-dates the introduction in 1934 of the character "Donald Duck" into the world of Mickey Mouse films.
These recreational children's rhymes appear to me to have been created by children and most, if not all of them, have been/are used as elimination rhymes (choosing "it" rhymes.)
**** "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes have been/are usually chanted as elimination rhymes ("choosing it", "counting out" rhymes.)
"Mickey Mouse Built A House" (and similar titles) have been/are chanted by themselves as independent (stand alone) rhymes. They have also been chanted as part of (in combination with) lines/verses of other recreational rhymes such as long forms of certain versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
**** One sub-plot of the Mickey Mouse films, cartoons, and television series that feature Donald Duck- including the Mickey Mouse Club House series - is that Donald Duck is jealous of Mickey Mouse having the spotlight. Therefore, out of spite, Donald Duck is often depicted as messing up Mickey's plans. Specifically, in some of the "Mickey Mouse built a house" sub-set of the Mickey Mouse rhymes, Donald Duck accidentally or on purpose "messes up" (destroys) Mickey Mouse's house. -snip- Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck for the Wikipedia page on Donald Duck. That page includes information about that character's relationships with Mickey Mouse.
**** LINKS TO OTHER PANCOCOJAMS POSTS THAT ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO THIS POST In 2022 I published a pancocojams post that compiled examples of Mickey Mouse Built A House (or similarly titled) rhymes that are included in long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes:https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-rhymes-in-long.html " Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes"
Most of the examples in that 2022 pancocojams post are from an online Mudcat folk music discussion thread that is entitled "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky"https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=489&page=10&desc=yes [Note: That hyperlink is for the first page of a 10 page Mudcat discussion thread that I began in 2006. As of October 26, 2025 that discussion thread is still open for comments/examples with the latest example being from November 24, 2025.
In September 2025 I published a complete reprint of that post, with some additions and corrections. Some of those additions were from that 2022 post's comment section. https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-verses-in-down.html "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes (reprint & updates)." A few of those examples aren't from the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" family of children's recreational rhymes. Those rhymes are also included in this October 2025 pancocojams post.
That long Reddit.com discussion thread began in 2021 and (as of October 27, 2025) it is still open for comments/examples.
**** SOME EXAMPLES OF MICKEY MOUSE CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES WITH OR WITHOUT DONALD DUCK) THAT AREN'T A PART OF "DOWN BY THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES
Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.
Source #1 From https://dokumen.pub/counting-out-rhymes-a-dictionary-9780292711037.html "[page] 345 Mickey Mouse (He) bought a house. See 346. Mickey Mouse built a house Under an apple tree, Mickey Mouse called his house Number twenty-three. Also found as a jump-rope rhyme; see JRR, p. 122. Opie (1959), 111 [Dublin].
Mickey Mouse In a public house. See 355. -141 -
[Page] 346
Mickey Mouse Lived in a house. What color was it? "Red." R-E-D spells red And you are he. Opie (1969), 59 [since 1936]. "Mickey Mouse bought a house. / What colour did he paint it?" Howard, NYFQ, 16 (i960), 140 [Australia 1954-1955]. Ritchie (1965), 47 [Edinburgh]. Begins "Mickey Mouse / He bought a house."
Mickey Mouse made (planned) a house. See 366. 347
Mickey Mouse was in a house Wondering what to do. So he scratched his bun-tiddly-um, Out goes you. Opie (1959), 111 [Farnham, Surrey]."
I love the chanting games kids play. Some of them have been around for years, some are new. They are invented by children and some survive with minimal changes for generations; others get reworked and change rapidly. Often snippets from one chant work their way into another.
The benefits of chanting games are hand-eye co-ordination and memory training, but most of all friendship bonding. It's interesting to me that they are mostly played among girls.
[…]
Counting games
These are the chants you use to count off among a group of friends to see who will be "it". They're variations on Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe.
[…]
Mickey Mouse had a house
underneath the movies
when the movie started
Mickey Mouse farted
What colour was it?
[child landed on chooses a colour, then all spell out the colour to finish counting off]"
Mickey Mouse is a counting game with a rhyme. It is normally played by girls and used to determine who will be it.
Details
At School 19
Players: 3
Girls
Age: 11 Counting on shoes
Mickey Mouse went to the movies:
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (blue),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (black),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink).
At School 05
Players: 3
Girls
Age: 9
Mickey Mouse had a house,
What colour was it?
(Response) Red. (any colour can be chosen)
R-E-D.
Person on whose foot the last letter lands is 'It'."
**** Source #11 From http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml "In the 80s Rhymes" "Mickey Mouse built a house and made it out of glass. Daffy Duck messed it up and made me kiss his a**" -snip- This is the way this rhyme was written on that page except that all the words were given in upper case letters.
Notice that the name "Daffy Duck"* is used instead of "Donald Duck". My guess is that the person who contributed this example to that rhyme page either mixed up the names of the two cartoon ducks or the version of that rhyme that she or he learned had the name of the wrong duck.
The counting out rhyme that begins "Mickey Mouse had a house underneath the movies/ when the movie started Mickey Mouse farted"... [given as Source #6 of this pancocojams post" is very similar to the insult rhyme "Skinny Malinky". That rhyme may have originated in Scotland and versions of it are also found in England.
This pancocojams post presents information about the saying "We're sick and tired of being sick and tired."
This post showcases a YouTube video of 1960s Mississippi Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer who is widely credited as coining this saying.
This post also showcases a October 24, 2026 YouTube video of President Obama using this saying in the speech he gave in Cleveland, Ohio in support of Democratic candidates in the United States midterm election.
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Fannie Lou Hamer and thanks to Barack Obama for their words and for their actions.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAYING "WE'RE SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED
Source #1
AI Overview
"Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer first used the phrase
"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" during her speeches and
activism in 1964.
Origin and Meaning
Who said it: Fannie Lou Hamer, a leader in the civil rights
movement and co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
When: August and December 1964, most notably during her
powerful addresses and a speech in Harlem alongside Malcolm X.
Context: Hamer used the phrase to describe the deep physical
and emotional exhaustion caused by enduring generations of racial
discrimination, police violence, poverty, and voter suppression in the Jim Crow
South."
** Source #2 From https://blackher.us/heres-to-you-fannie-lou-hamer-we-are-all-sick-and-tired-of-being-sick-and-tired/
“Here’s to You Fannie Lou Hamer. We are All Sick and Tired of Being Sick and
Tired.” by Angela Dorn | Mar 12, 2018 | Articles | "Ever since I read about her in the 1990’s, I have been a fan
of Fannie Lou Hamer. Until she joined the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s,
Fannie Lou Hamer was an ordinary black woman living a difficult life in rural
Mississippi. Her birthright, as a poor, black, female Mississippian was an
unfulfilling life of humiliation, pain and near indentured servitude as a
sharecropper. Hamer fought all of this when she took up the mantle of activism.
According to FemBio,
“Fannie Lou Hamer was born on October 6, 1917, in rural
Montgomery County Mississippi. She was
the twentieth child of Jim and Lou Ella Townsend. The family moved to Sunflower
County when Fannie Lou was two years old, and she began working in the cotton
fields at age six. Sharecroppers, her parents finally earned enough to rent
land and buy mules and a car. However, the family was plunged back into poverty
when a white neighbor poisoned the mules because he did not want to see the
Townsend’s succeed.
In 1944, the owner of the plantation on which the
Townsend’s worked discovered that Fannie Lou could read and write, and employed
her as the time and record keeper. A year later, she married a tractor driver
on the plantation named Perry Hamer. The Hamers made their home in Ruleville,
and Fannie Lou spent the next eighteen years as a sharecropper and plantation
record keeper.
When the Civil Rights Movement came to Ruleville in 1962,
Fannie Lou Hamer quickly became an active participant. With training and
encouragement from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Hamer
and several other local residents attempted to register to vote but were
unsuccessful because they did not pass the infamous literacy tests. In
retaliation for trying to register, Hamer was fired from her job, received
phone threats, and was nearly a victim of gunshots fired into a friend’s home. But
Hamer was not intimidated: by 1963 she was a field secretary for SNCC and after
many efforts to do so successfully registered to vote.”
During the fight for the right to vote, while seeing slow
(but steady) progress, Fannie Lou Hamer famously said that she was “sick and
tired of being sick and tired.” It was a
reference to her dismay at having to fight to the death for rights that were
fundamental to Whites and other Americans but denied to Blacks.
Hamer was tired of battling to get more out of her life,
which was structurally designed to block her from any real opportunity. It was
clear that some Mississippians believed that Hamer and other Black people were
born for the sole purpose of working for White field owners at low, low wages.
Fannie could see that her life and the lives of her friends and family would
not change until Blacks stood up and fought for themselves. Neither she nor any
other Black person in Mississippi would be “handed anything” – not even basic
human decency.
The tiring and brutal fight was ultimately successful. In
1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act during the Johnson administration.
I’m Sick and
Tired of Being Sick and Tired
Today, I am older then Fannie Lou Hamer was when
she took up the mantle of activism. Because of her and people like her, even
though I am an African American woman, I have not (yet) had to demand my right
to vote. Nor, have I experienced the violence of a police baton or the terror
of racist shots being fired at me. For this, I am grateful. As a Black woman, the fact that my life is
not filled with violence is a historical anomaly. Still, there are many days
when I wake up so sick and tired that I don’t want to get out of bed. I fear
that the day ahead will be filled with nonsense – policies designed to divide
us and practices that cause so much pain.
[…]
Fifty years after Fannie Lou Hamer fought for her humanity and ours, I too am
sick and tired of being sick and tired. Maybe you are too.” -snip- This is how this article is presented online.
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO - Fannie Lou Hamer "We are Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired."
Paul Richards, Sep 12, 2018
During her 1964 campaign for the Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party, Fannie Lou Hamer addressed a rally saying "We are sick
and tired of being sick and tired."
A clip from "Dream Deferred" by Harvey Richards (1964)
Former President Obama campaigns with Ohio's Democratic
gubernatorial candidate, Amy Acton, in Cleveland, Ohio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16OhFDAnjhQ -snip- This saying is found around 1:10 to around 1:15 in this video. Here's that video's transcript of that portion of that speech: "And when you have been campaigning
as long as I have been campaigning, when you've worked as many elections
as I have, you can tell when an election comes along that just feels a little bit
different.
[cheering]
An election where people are so ready for something new, so hungry for
something better, so sick and tired of being sick and tired that everywhere you go, it feels like change is in
[cheering]
the air. And in Ohio, that's how I'm feeling
right now."
**** INFORMATION ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA'S USE OF THIS SAYING AI Overview "Former President Barack Obama used the phrase "sick and
tired of being sick and tired" during campaign rallies ahead of the
midterms to describe voters' frustrations with the current political climate.
Context of the Phrase
• Recent Speeches: Obama used the line during campaign
events in October 2026 (including stops in Cleveland, Ohio, and Detroit,
Michigan) while stumping for Democratic candidates.
• Meaning: He applied the expression—originally made famous
by civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer—to characterize an electorate he says
is hungry for change and exhausted by political division and the policies of
the Trump • administration.
• Historical Usage: Obama has periodically invoked
variations of this phrasing throughout his political career, dating back to his
2008 presidential campaign and historical addresses like the 50th anniversary
of the Equal Pay Act, to highlight public weariness with stagnant progress or
perceived political dysfunction."
A group of American voters (Kenan Thompson, Chris Redd, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson) face a challenging road to the election polls.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
[This is a reprint of a 2020 pancocojams post that remains in this blog. The same additional material has been added to both the 2020 post and this October 2026 post.
This 2026 includes a comment that I wrote and published in that 2020's post's discussion thread. This is the only comment that is in that discussion thread as of the publishing date for this 2026 pancocojams post.
Visitor comments are welcome for both of these posts.]
**** This pancocojams post showcases the Oct. 31, 2020 Saturday Night Live (SNL) television skit "Strollin".
This post also includes the lyrics to the song that was sung in that skit, background for that Saturday Night Live skit as well as selected comment from that YouTube video's discussion thread.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and political purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those associated with this Saturday Night Live skit. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. Also, thanks to all those who are active in voter outreach projects.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE [written October 24, 2026]
(Additions and corrections are welcome.)
This is one of several pancocojams posts about Black American people being transported in groups to one voting (polling) place or Black people marching in a group to one voting (polling) place in order to vote in a state or national election. Referents for these "voting in groups" efforts include the names "Souls to the polls" and "Stroll to the polls".
It's important to note that "Soul to the polls", "Stroll to the polls", and similarly named efforts have only been held and can only be held for early, in person voting in a state of the United States in which a person who is already registered to vote in that state or is registering to vote at that time in that state and then votes at that time can vote at any polling place within that state.
In contrast, the criteria and process for election day voting in those states is different from the way that early voting has occurred and currently occurs in those states. One crucial differences is that during election day voting a registered voter can only vote at a specific polling place.
North Carolina's early voting process that allows for people to vote at any polling site means that an eligible person who is transported in that group or who marched as a group to that polling site can vote at that polling site.
In contrast, Pennsylvania (where I live) has no traditional early in person voting process. Therefore, no mass voting effort such as Souls to the polls" or "Strolls to the polls" could work there.
**** So many pancocojams "Souls to the polls" and "Stroll to the polls" posts focus on North Carolina because because there are so many YouTube videos of these voting efforts in that state. This large number of videos is tied to the fact that these efforts (particularly what has been referred to as "Stroll to the polls") have been led by and have involved people and organizations (particularly historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities) that are associated with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
North Carolina has the second largest number of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States.*
*from AI Overview- "North Carolina has 10 accredited (and 11 to 12 total historical) historically Black colleges and universities.
[...]
Alabama has the highest number of HBCUs in the country with 14 recognized institutions.
[...]
Also, North Carolina frequently leads the nation in total undergraduate Black student enrollment across its institutions.**
[...]
(Note: North Carolina A&T State University is recognized as the largest HBCU by total enrollment in the United States)."
**I presume that the word "institutions" in this quote means educational institutions that are HBCUs and non-HBCUs.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SNL ''STROLLIN'' SKIT The Oct. 31, 2020 Saturday Night Live television skit "Strolling" focuses on two middle age African American women and two middle age Black men standing outside who decide to "stroll" down to a voting place and vote early (before the official voting day.) The group does a strut/stroll like dance while they sing about how they are trying to find a place to vote.
According to a number of commenters in the discussion thread for the YouTube video of that Saturday Night Live skit, the song that is sung by the group of Black people in that skit is based on The Whispers' 1987 R&B song "Keep On Lovin' Me" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6aRvVTSC0I&ab_channel=UnidiscMusic.
That Saturday Night Live skit reflects the voter suppression actions taken in some Texas cities and in some other American cities. Those voter suppression actions include closing many voting polls in communities where People of Color live, moving polling places in majority Black neighborhoods to distant locations, and having so few polling places in certain communities that people are forced to stand in line for hours in order to vote early or to vote on election day.
**** WHY THE WORD "STROLLIN" IS USED IN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE TELEVISION SKIT The title and some of the content for Saturday Night Live's "Strollin" skit has its source in the historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities' voting efforts directed toward Black Americans. Those Black Greek letter organizations (bglos) have named those voting efforts "Stroll to the polls". That name in part is a play on the name "Souls To The Polls" , a voter recruitment and support effort that has been led for decades by Black churches. The name "Stroll to the polls" is also a nod to and a play on the bglo meaning of word "stroll".
The word "stroll" in American English means "to walk leisurely". The word "stroll" is also the name of a 1958 R&B dance. In addition to those meanings, for members of historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities "strollin'" is a competitive or non-competitive performance activity that is done instead of "steppin" at shows, parties, and other historically Black Greek letter events. "Strolls" are either performed by members of the same historically Black Greek letter organization or by members of various (usually) historically Black Greek letter organizations in the case of some "unity strolls". The performers form a vertical line and move in a circular, follow the leader manner to the accompaniment of one of a select group of Hip Hop/R&B records. While strolling, the members perform movements that are distinctive to their organization, including "throwing" their organization's hand sign.
Because of that history and current culture, it's not surprising that a number of historically Black Greek letter organizations have named their voter outreach efforts "Stroll to the Polls" instead of using other names for those efforts such as "walk the vote" or "souls to the polls".
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWilCKWiH2A&ab_channel=11Alive for an Oct. 19, 2020 YouTube video entitled "Atlanta 'Stroll to the Polls' video, images go viral". The summary of that video that was published by 11Alive reads "Members of the four historically Black sororities came together for the project that grabbed the attention of celebrities and social media."
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.. has held "Stroll to the Polls" voter outreach campaigns for eight years and that history may have contributed to the impetus for Saturday Night Live's Oct. 31, 2020 "Strollin" skit was the Atlanta Stroll to the Polls" video and/or other "Stroll to the Polls" videos.
A number of the YouTube videos of "Stroll to the Polls" voter outreach initiatives indicate that those initiatives are led by members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for Vice President, is a member of that sorority. -snip- *Some information about Alpha Phi Alpha's "Stroll to the Polls" initiatives is included in the comment section of this post.
**** LYRICS TO SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE'S SKIT "STROLLIN'"
You know what time it is?
Yeah, get nasty. Get nasty.
Oh yeah, Un hun.
Let's do it.
We've been waitin four years And now it's time To head down to the polls and hit that voting line.
Been hopin for so long for Nov. 3rd It's time to march on down and get our voices heard
We're strollin to the polls to the polls We're strollin to the polls
Y'all don't have to ask They need us.
And less They gonna need the best Un hun
[White man dressed with as sweater like Mr. Rogers tv. character] - "We're closed."
Okay.
We're gettin __ We can vote here
[White man] -Sorry, This one's also closed.
Okay Strollin to the polls So is this where it is?
Strollin to the polls.
Oh, just a little bit further.
All the polls are closed So we head to the one down south.
[White man] - "Sorry, that poll's closed. It's a Walmart now.
Okay, damn Tell us, man, where can we go vote then?
[White man] - "Go way up the road Right up on Route 110."
That's the highway!
[Group shown walking in between cars driving on the highway.]
We're strollin to the polls Just a little bit further, y'all. Strollin to the polls.
Not sure why we didn't drive.
We're strollin to the polls Why the heck I wore church shoes y'all? Strolling to the polls. I regret livin in Texas.
Hey, while we strollin, Come on, everybody Introduce yourselves. Me, I'm crazy legs Jimmy. Watch my crazy legs. I'm off and running.
I'm rubberband Ryan.
I'm pitty pat Patricia.
And I'm Michelle. Just Michelle.
I think we almost there. So fit to go.
[White man dressed as school crossing guard] - "Sorry everyone. The road is closed."
It's not though.
We're strollin to the polls. I'm crampin up. Strollin to the polls.
It's almost five o clock Let's do double time. [Group moves faster.]
Strollin to the polls Strolling to the polls
We're here! Yeah, we finally made it.
[White man with suit on] -"Congratulations, this one is open."
[The group stands in back of a line full of voters. A White man walks passed with wearing camo shirts and pants and holding an automatic weapon. Speaking about that man, one of the women in the group says]
Hold up! Does he work here?
I don't think so. [Group looks at each other with concerned expressions.]
Strollin to the polls.
I don't know.
Strollin to the polls.
This line's so big.
Hey we in line.
[The group realizes that the voting line that they are standing in is really loooooooong.]
Ooh, this line.
[One member of the group asks a White woman standing in front of him in the line.]
Hey, lady. How long have you been here?
[White woman takes her face mask down and replies]
"Three hours."
Damn!
[Voice from the person in charge of the voting place.] - "Next!"
We're strollin to the- [Group stops singing because the line didn't move far.]
[Voice from the person in charge of the voting place.] - "Next!"
We're stroll-[Group stops singing because the line didn't move far.]
[After some time in the line[
Oh! Finally!
This is where we go in to vote, right?
[White man in suit seated behind a table] - "Yep. You all brought masks. right?"
Damn!
We walked all this way?
[One of the men in the group covers up his mouth with his hand and says] How bout if I use my hand?
[White man in suit seated behind a table shakes his head no and says] -"Well, that's a hand."
We're strollin to the polls.
[Skit ends.] -snip- This is my transcription which differs slightly from the closed caption words on the screen. Additions and corrections are welcome.
**** SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD (All of these comments are from Oct. 31, 2020 or Nov. 1, 2020 except for the first two comments from 2021 that I added in 2026.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. @Greyareas27, 2021 "For anybody who doesn't know, this is a direct reference to Harris County (Houston) TX. -1.4 million voters relegated to ONE drop-in ballot box! Voter suppression personified!"
** 2. @tennesseewilliams101, 2021 "For those of you wondering, Harris county is about 20 percent Black, 40 percent Hispanic and 8 percent Asian."
** 3. woah11ify "This is SNL gold"
** 4. angelica "Brilliant. The mask, the message, the choreography, the cast, the song, the styling. Perfection👌🏾🙌🏾👏🏾"
** 5. James Ricker "SNL doing what comedy does best, social commentary"
** 6. achilleshoplite "Christ this was fun at first but then it got depressing real quick"
** Reply 7. Doug Lowe "Brilliantly conceived and executed. Exactly whats happening in Houston right now. I laughed...then got really angry."
** 8. Jerry Booth "This is terrific, tackling a serious problem without being heavy-handed, and as a bonus, some great music (glad SNL is moving away from the interchangeable rap songs). Also perfect use of Mulaney. The team of Kenan, Chris, Ego and Punkie has so much to offer the show and viewers."
** Reply 9. Language Lab "Yes. All while ignoring CoVid through the shi--y* modeling of a lack of social distance.
And "terrific" My dear sir, you are not a day under the age of 70" -snip- *This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
** Reply 10. emily Reid "@Language Lab i think these people know what they are doing. WAY TO DROWN EVERYTHING IN UNNECESSARY NEGATIVITY. No ones looking for a role model at snl. They watch it to laugh. Heard of it."
** 11. ZZ-Talk "Bruh. Gotta laugh to keep from crying."
** 12. Tyler Hackner "I have that song in my head now"
** Reply 13. YouTubeName "It’s based on this Whispers song:
** Reply 14. Shareatha Coleman "Ikr, now I want to stroll to the polls 🤣🤣🤣. But, I already voted."
** 15. hagar2025 "The US should try how the rest of the world is voting: in and out in 10 minutes. Oh wait... republicans."
** Reply 16. James Ricker "Republicans are scared of people voting because they don't think their policies are popular"
** Reply 17. dafttool "It took me only 10 minutes, but I live in a very white, Republican district 🤔 It’s probably a coincidence. 🤪"
** 18. kawaiiafangirl "I lost it when they started strollin' on the highway. Lmao."
** Reply 19. E. Von "Genius Stuff"
** Reply 20. Al Mack "I LITERALLY SCREAMED"
** Reply 21. Ken Williams " "Why didn't we drive"?..I fell out when Just Michelle said that!🤣🤣🤣"
** 22. G De Los Muertos "I love their shuffle walk."
** 23. Manu Ginobilis Bald Spot "This looks like a Black R&B super group of an Isley Brother, one of the twins from The Whispers, and the women from Midnight and Atlantic Starr lmao."
** 24. Cinny "So many of us are experiencing this sh-t* right now, it’s sadly very relatable😅" -snip- *This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
** 25. itgetter9 "For real, though: MAD GRATITUDE to everyone who has been standing in LONG lines and going through other kinds of ordeals to cast a vote. You're heroes, and I hope that we can get good outcomes to allow us to roll back voter suppression." -snip- "Mad gratitude" = a lot of gratitude
** 26. beresponsibleplease "This would be funny if it wasn’t true! Please vote !"
**** Discussion thread comment from that 2020 post:
Here's an excerpt from an article about the historically Black Greek letter fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc's "Soul to the Polls" voter outreach initiative:
Description Stroll To The Polls is put on every year by the Upsilon Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. It's a fulfillment of one of our four national programs, A Voteless People Is A Hopeless People. This is our chance to ENGAGE the community and PROMOTE voter awareness and community involvement, because it's up to us to truly make a difference. This years theme is about the poem InVIctus and overall social consciousness. Invictus by Sir William Ernest Henley is a story about perseverance. We aim to project and live by that story with our performance and endeavors leading up to the event. We put our own spin on it, and have your favorite CNU organizations join us in coming up with their very own original stroll routines in order to compete for the most prestigious trophy on campus. STROLL CHAMPION. Strolling, if you don't know, is a form of dance that Greek Organizations in the NPHC showcase at social events. Now you have a chance to watch your favorite clubs, fraternities, and sororities, perform their very own routines."...
