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THE
BLACK
BALLOT
"What may be called the liberation tradition in black religion also begins with a determination to survive, but because it is exterior rather than primarily interior (and for that reason it’s carriers find more space in which to maneuver) it goes beyond strategies of sheer survival to strategies of elevation — from “make do” to “must do more” both strategies are basic to Afro-American life and culture."
- Gayraud Wilmore
VOTING AND BLACK FAITH
Rather than accept a religion used as an instrument of social control, Black people developed their own leadership and reformed religion that resulted in the Black church. Historically the Black church, other than the Black family, is known to be the most significant social institution in our communities. It’s a place we gather and pray, provide resources and a platform for political engagement.
During the 19th century clergymen such as Rev. Reverdy Ransom, J. Milton Waldron and Bishop Henry McNeal Turner mobilized from the pulpit to the pews preaching liberation and building a strong foundation to affect change and produce a significant Black political base. Others such as Reverend Hiram Revels and Reverend Richard H. Cain would go from the pulpit to become politicians, due to the mobilization of thousands of former enslaved who had been registered to vote.
In spite of continued disenfranchisement and the ratification of Jim Crow, through the mobilization of the Black church and its leaders emerged organizations such as the NAACP, National Urban League, Black labor unions, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the Southern Christian leadership conference, a political arm of the Black church.
Through these organizations, with the support of the Black church, the fight for civil and voting rights has proven to be successful to date.
In spite of repetitive acts of violence by white supremacist, restrictive Black codes and electoral obstacles, to disenfranchise Black voters, the church has been and continues to be the main arena for Black political action.
View the 2023 Pulpit Toolkit by clicking here.
The Black Ballot
The Black Ballot Event
Souls to the Polls
Move New Jersey
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CONTACTLESS VOTER REGISTRATION
The NAACP Move New Jersey 2022 Voter Education and Outreach Plan was created understanding that times have changed due to COVID and high gas prices. We have created a digital or contactless Voter Registration Drive to assure effectiveness with minimal contact. The steps for the digital drive are simple:
1. Copy the QR code
2. Save code to your phone and share with your community contacts and network
3. The link takes users to a form that records the registrant’s information for the Branch. The short form asks for:
Name
County
Email address
Phone Number
4. After filling out the short form, there is a link that takes the user to the State of New Jersey site where they can complete the registration process.
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SOULS TO THE POLLS
Historically and to this day, Black and Brown communities have been systematically disenfranchised from the voting process in the United States. Black voter suppression across the country has taken on many forms from direct intimidation tactics, gerrymandering, voter identification laws, and much more.
In the 2020 general elections, despite significant increases in overall voter population, 71 percent of eligible white voters cast ballots compared to 58.4 percent of non-white voters. The Brennan Center for Justice notes that “…in the final weeks of 2020 and in 2021, state legislators across the country pre-filed or introduced more than 400 bills with provisions that would restrict voting access.”
In response to historic and current attempts to suppress voting access, for decades the Black church has become a place in which disenfranchised communities take back their power and their right to vote through organizing. Souls to the Polls “is a concentrated effort at Black churches to get everyone to go to the poll…driving as many of the church attendees as possible to the poll to vote.”2 The impact and effect of this effort through the Black church is invaluable to empowering disenfranchised communities, engaging in the democratic process, and ensuring that all we live up to the values of equity and equality in representation.
CONTACTLESS
VOTING
Clicking on the link or the QR code will bring you to this form. We are asking people to fill out this form for record and follow up.
All the fields are required
The information gathered on this page is critical to future outreach efforts.
