‘This is our civil rights movement,’ Nikema Williams tells Decatur rally

“This isn’t just about leadership in Washington, D.C., and that’s what this tour is about,” the Democrat said. “It’s the people that will save this country.”

Atlanta, often referred to as the cradle of the civil rights movement, offered a meaningful launch to the tour, said Angela Rye, a tour organizer and former executive director and general counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Atlanta was one of the cities that was voted on, and it was only right to show deference to everything that has happened here that we start here,” she said.

Williams gave a nod to the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who played a central role in the civil rights movement.

“I serve in the seat that was once held by the late John Lewis, so it is imperative that we all understand our obligation to get into good trouble,” she said.

The tour also aims to help Black communities heal and recharge after a zealous push to elect the first Black woman to office in the 2024 presidential election. More than 80% of Black voters supported Kamala Harris, compared to 42% of white voters and 55% of Latino voters, according to the Associated Press.

President Donald Trump’s decisive victory left many Black voters stunned, disillusioned and betrayed by white America, said Joy-Ann Reid, political commentator and former host of “The ReidOut” MSNBC show.

“This feeling of abandonment by our allies has caused this incredible fall off in Black civic engagement and feeling of empowerment in 2024,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Each stop of the tour, co-led by local leaders, consists of two days of community service, civic engagement workshops and a rally to remind Black voters of the importance of staying civically engaged.

“We can’t sit out,” said Reid, who also spoke at the rally. “Black America has always been the conscience of this country, and we cannot let that conscience fall silent.”

Cliff Albright, executive director of Black Voters Matter Fund, similarly urged the crowd to stay hungry for change.

“We deserve rest,” he said. “But all the while, we are strategizing. We are planning. We are training. That’s what this is all about.”

Decatur resident Deana Ervin, who attended the rally, said she was in disbelief at the outcome of the 2024 presidential election and continues to be disappointed at the Trump administration’s handling of the government and economy.

“Things at the federal level are run by billionaires and oligarchs who don’t care about us,” she said. “That’s why change has to happen at the local level. Be present locally.”

Ervin said she is looking forward to next year’s midterms and will do everything she can to galvanize people in her community.

“I want to be first in line,” she said. “For everyone who stood quiet, I cannot wait to get them out, drive them to the polls if I have to.”

Each city on the tour was picked for its historical and political significance to the Black experience, the organizers said. Other cities include Durham, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Newark, New Jersey; and Los Angeles.

“Our struggle is a struggle of a lifetime, and we have to keep giving the power back to the people,” Williams said. “This is our civil rights movement.”