Refusing ‘self-imposed slavery,’ CBC hopes to mobilize black vote

After the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, more than 700 civil rights activists from across the country caravanned to Mississippi to be part of a movement registering African Americans to vote. Over the course of ten weeks that became known as Freedom Summer, many faced threats and intimidation, as well as real violence from the Ku Klux Klan. Though the number of blacks registered that year was small, that summer is considered a pivotal moment in civil rights history.

Fifty years later, the future of the Senate might well lie in the hands of African American voters. Five battleground states have significant black populations that could shift the outcome of the election. In North Carolina, where the population is 22 percent African American, it is believed it would only take an additional one percent of the black vote to guarantee the return of incumbent Senator Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and possibly keep the Senate in Democratic hands.

"The reality is, African Americans and black and brown folks have an opportunity to represent their interests in this election cycle," said Tristan Wilkerson, Lead Strategist and Co-Founder of Black and Brown People Vote.

Although African American voters were a critical part of President Obama’s electoral coalitions in both 2008 and 2012, a significantly lower percentage of eligible black voters turned out for the two most recent midterm elections. In an attempt to decrease the differential, the Congressional Black Caucus has partnered with over 3,000 black churches across the country for “Freedom Sundays.” The CBC initiative uses the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer to remind voters of the historic and present-day importance of civic participation, and gives congregants the information they need to register and vote in the upcoming elections.

"To be denied our voting rights is slavery imposed by others. To refuse to vote, is self-imposed slavery," Dr. Otis Moss Jr. of Faith Partnerships and Pastor Emeritus of Olivet Baptist Church, two participants in the Freedom Sunday initiative, wrote in a statement. "Our democracy is threatened by voter suppression and voter apathy. We face in the twenty-first century an ugly slavery by a new name."

Although the initiative is explicitly non-partisan, several congregation leaders have seized upon the opportunity to emphasize the importance of voting to safeguard government programs such as the Affordable Care Act and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These programs have been notably helpful to poor and low-income Americans, many of whom are also African American.

As Wilkerson points out, for these communities in particular, the difference between a Republican- and a Democrat-led Senate could be striking — African Americans are 55 percent more likely to be uninsured than white Americans and twice as likely to have used food stamps during a period of their lives. House Republicans, eyeing a new Senate majority after November, have made abundantly clear their desire to impose deep cuts on entitlement programs.

“People of color are disproportionately affected by some of the decisions that are made,” continued Wilkerson. “We cannot afford not to participate.”