Voting is how we empower our communities

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

As faith and civic leaders, we have learned to ignore the headlines and focus on how to tell the story of what is possible. When Black voters receive the consistent care and attention that our role in the electorate warrants, we show up.

One point of proof: the energy, on display recently Columbia Drive United Methodist Church for Fair Count’s “Our Time is Now: Inspiring and Mobilizing Black Women” event. It was our honor to gather with hundreds of Black women for spiritual guidance and political discussion meant to reawaken our passion for collective action as we head toward election season. We were reminded that democracy isn’t just a construct, it is a tool that we can use to get the things we need.

What we heard reaffirmed what we know to be true: Black voters are approaching this election with a sense of purpose and urgency. However, this purpose must be validated, and the urgency met with real plans of action.

Our nation again faces a pivotal moment in history. Our commitment to democracy and equity are at the center of the debate. In Georgia, we continue to bear witness to the transformative impact that a single vote can have on our communities, our state and our nation. Whether for good or ill, every vote counts. Therefore, as the election draws nearer, we are obliged to confront an earned cynicism about the potential outcomes and the power of an individual vote to make a difference.

We must acknowledge the legitimacy of this cynicism and then offer a greater truth. The power of the vote does not simply lie in a moment’s action. We are able to shift policy when we leverage the strength of our communities to ensure our voices shape a just future. Like the faith community and Fair Count understand, we are stronger when we stay at the table, on the line, and in the conversation.

Our legacy of political and electoral participation has been hard-won and requires our engagement to uphold. Women, and particularly women of color, have been the backbone of electoral wins that have produced historic progress on issues from health care access to protecting voting rights. Black voters are loyal to democracy, and none more so than Black women. Black women have consistently turned out to the polls in record numbers despite facing systemic barriers. In 2020, more than two-thirds of eligible Black women voters turned out to vote in the presidential election — among the highest of any race-gender group.

Today, women voters are more powerful than ever — 68.4% of us participated in the 2020 election. We make up the majority of the electorate, and our participation can determine the outcome of elections at every level. When women vote, we vote for the future we want for our children and communities.

This determination is mirrored in our faith communities, where the call to action is not only heard but deeply felt and acted upon. Faith communities have long been pillars of strength, guidance and support. In times of uncertainty, we turn to our faith leaders for wisdom and encouragement. Now, more than ever, these communities can play a vital role in mobilizing voters. Rather than accept the predictions of low turnout, we are called today to ensure that we flood the polls with our votes and the system with our power.

Pastors, ministers, rabbis, imams and faith leaders across Georgia can use their platforms to encourage civic participation. Congregation members, too, can make a difference — host voter registration drives, provide information on voting procedures and remind your congregations of the moral imperative to vote. Connect the dots between their worries and what a difference effective leadership can make, from what their children are allowed to learn in schools to the investment in jobs in their neighborhoods. Use the times we are gathered together to explore how we must pay attention up and down the ballot and how the election is the beginning of the process, not the end. Faith communities are uniquely positioned to reach individuals who might otherwise feel disconnected from the political process, and faith leaders are mightily positioned to confront cynicism with concrete action.

As we approach this critical election season, let us remember the words of Anna Julia Cooper, who said, “[W]hen and where I enter in the quiet undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence or special patronage; then and there the whole [Black] race enters with me..” Voting is how we enter the conversation about freedom and justice. It is how we speak out about the issues that matter most to us. By making a plan to vote, recognizing the power of women voters, and mobilizing through our faith communities, we can ensure that Georgia continues to be a beacon of democracy and progress.

Stacey Abrams is a political leader, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. Christy Davis Jackson is a lawyer, nationally recognized thought leader in reimagining urban cities and the Supervisor of the 6th Episcopal District (State of Georgia) for the African Methodist Episcopal Church and its 543 churches in the state of Georgia. Ms. Davis Jackson is married to Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, Presiding Prelate of the 6th Episcopal District.