On Sunday, November 6, People For the American Way Foundation’s African American Ministers Leadership Council, a nationwide network of African American
clergy, will launch a yearlong program to turn out the vote in the 2012 elections. The VESSELS program will work with at least 400 clergy from across
the country to respond to widespread attacks on voting rights by educating, training and turning out voters.
The effort will focus on twelve key states with large African American populations that have been hit by right-wing attacks on voting rights, including
suppressive voter ID laws.
Minister Leslie Watson Malachi, Director of the African American Ministers Leadership Council
, said:
“African American voters are under assault from right-wing legislators who think they can win elections by keeping us from voting. We must respond by
knowing our rights, educating our fellow voters and turning out even more people to the polls than we did in 2008. This is not a partisan issue: it’s
about ensuring that our democracy lives up to its highest ideals.
“Throughout American history, the Black Church has been a powerful force behind efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to our Constitutional
rights. The current battles over voting rights are no exception. As dozens of states pass laws making it harder to vote, we must work harder to ensure
that everybody who can participates in the democratic process. We believe that God gave us a voice, and we must use it to speak with our vote.”
Rev. Dr. Roland Womack, Jr., Chair of AAMLC and retired pastor of Milwaukee’s Progressive Baptist Church
, said:
“The Vessels program is extremely important to the 2012 election, at a time when the rights of all people are not recognized and a permanent ruling
class determines the decisions and direction of this country. I am participating because I am old enough to remember how it used to be and I promised
my father and my God that I would not stand by and let this happen to us again.”
Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Samuel, Vice-Chair of AAMLC and Founder and Pastor of Victory for the World Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia
, added:
“The current Occupy Wall Street movement along with ancillary movements in cities around the world is further testimony to the importance of citizens’
involvement in our political process. The VESSELS program is an important step toward voter empowerment. Our democracy depends on it.”
More information about the African American Ministers Leadership Council and the VESSELS program can be found here.
People For the American Way Foundation’s report,
The Right to Vote Under Attack: The Campaign to Keep Millions of Americans from the Ballot Box
is available
here.
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