KNOXVILLE, TN — They Came.
Baptists, AME Zion, UMC, Nondenominational, CO.G.I.C., Protestant, and Catholic. From the smallest of churches to the mega church, over 200 gathered to represent their support of the Get Out the Vote Rally held at Mt. Olive in Knoxville on a hot Thursday evening.
The heat outside matched the heat of enthusiasm inside the sanctuary as those gathered to speak about the gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights Act presented facts and strategies to fight back.
The gathering of the churches was reminiscent of the early days in the fight for equality.
In the early days of the civil rights movement, the church was the strength of the movement, the safe space, the place where leaders like Dr. King would meet with the people to organize and strategize. Churches held voter registration drives, created rideshare programs to get people to the polls, and created community collaboration. The church was its own power system in a time of racism throughout the land. As the very rights the churches helped to obtain are being systematically stripped away, the need for their leadership has risen yet again, and those gathered in the sanctuary at Mt. Olive came for marching orders.
The program was tight, on time, and full of information; done decently and in order.
On the panel, four generations were represented. Ms. Starlandria Starks, Mr. Jalen Jones, Pastor Timothy Maddox, and Mr. Chris Winton, who is sixteen years old, a rising junior with a 4.8 GPA. Winton gave some of the most profound answers to the questions addressed to the panel about the church’s role in getting out the vote, ways to get others to go to the polls, how the church can make sure everyone is registered and can get to the polls. Suggesting the churches begin holding voting events, encouraging everyone to bring their families, saying, “Your NO vote IS a vote.” Panelist Stark spoke of the importance of education about the history of the vote and what each seat’s responsibilities. Pastor Maddox encouraged the churches to create parties with a purpose, use church vans to get people to the polls, and flood the airwaves with information. Jalen Jones spoke of incentivizing techniques, including buying food and giving rides, speaking of the importance of being kind. Also presented was a documentary short film, “Midterm Crisis,” created under the direction of award-winning producer Linda Paris-Bailey, a founding member of Carpet Bag Theatre.
The evening was especially geared to motivating those ages 18 to 35. Three questions were put forth to the youth by Theotis Robinson Jr., the first African American undergraduate student admitted to the University of Tennessee in 1961. Robinson asked, “Are you happy with the fact that your parents or grandparents are making decisions for you since you are not voting?” “What would your country look like if YOUR one vote made all the difference?” “If my one vote does not matter, why are people who do not have my best interest at heart trying so hard to take those rights away?” Valid questions to ask all over the United States as the attack to remove the voices of the people ramps up before the midterm elections.
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