I PROUDLY SHARE the legacy of generations of people who fought to be respected as full citizens in America. I am the granddaughter of Mississippi sharecroppers. My parents picked cotton growing up, sometimes missing school to ensure the family could make ends meet. My parents left Mississippi in the late 1960s after college, having never voted. I know too well about voter suppression and the horrors of Jim Crow. The fundamental right to vote is close to my heart; it’s personal.
My generation was the first in my family born with full voting rights. I never thought the precious right to vote would be jeopardized in 2024. Yet, because the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, the right of full and safe access to the ballot box is again impeded. Voter suppression has again taken hold as a tactic for dismantling democracy. The ghost of Jim Crow keeps on haunting.
In the words of the great theologian and rapper Chuck D, “I got so much trouble on my mind, refuse to lose.” Those lyrics from “Welcome to the Terrordome” are permanently on my lips. The continued onslaught of racialized policing, the challenge against anything considered “diverse,” and the attack of new voter suppression laws since the 2020 election have put these lyrics on repeat.
Voters in 28 states will face restrictions this November that weren’t in place in the last presidential election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Voter suppression laws or election interference legislation — whether through gerrymandering, voter identification changes, barriers to using mail-in or absentee ballots, voter roll purges, consolidation of polling sites, or allowing partisan boards of election undue influence — disproportionately limit the ability to vote for people of color, the elderly, and those with limited resources. Increasingly violent rhetoric and events throughout the 2024 campaign season also have given voters credible concerns about intimidation at the polls.
It is evident that the “fierce urgency of now,” as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, compels us not only to protect the right to vote but to actively nurture and support the democratic lives of all communities during this critical election period, especially those who live with their backs against the wall.
My work with Faiths United to Save Democracy, an interreligious coalition of faith leaders and voting rights organizations convened by Sojourners and others, is how I resist the stench of Jim Crow. It’s how I honor my ancestors and put feet to my hope for the generations to come. This multifaith, multigenerational, and diverse initiative stands as a testament to what we can achieve when we come together across faith lines to uphold the fundamental rights that bind us as a diverse society.
Over the last three election cycles, Faiths United has recruited and trained thousands of nonpartisan poll chaplains and peacekeepers who will be deployed in November to polling sites across 10 states. Once again, our chaplains provide moral support for voters and other poll volunteers. They are trained not only to spot electoral irregularities but also to know who to contact for appropriate oversight. Our peacekeepers are experienced in maintaining civility and deescalating any heated conflict or other threats that disrupt a positive voting experience.
As clergy and faith leaders, we know that each person is made in the image of the Creator. Voting is part of our sacred task and is a tool for us to create the thriving communities we all want. We must all ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, is registered to vote and able to access the ballot safely, and that every citizen’s vote is counted.
As we approach this crucial election, there is underlying uneasiness in the country — along with palpable excitement. We know that forces here and abroad seek to make chaos normative through disruption and threats of political violence. These same forces prevented my grandparents from voting. I will not allow them to revive their tired old tactics. I refuse to lose.
Most Americans long for a country where conflicts, which are expected, are resolved democratically, without violence. As Christians, we know the world is not how God intends. God wants communities where all can flourish and thrive. This is where the best of our mission as Christians becomes clear, where the prophetic and priestly gifts meet. As activist and suffragist Ida B. Wells said, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” By making sure all votes are counted, we turn the light upon truth.
Moya Harris, an itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is director of racial justice at Sojourners.
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