By Antjuan Seawright, TCR Columnist
I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve had enough.
I’ve had enough of Attorney General Pam Bondi and her ICE colleagues yelling as loudly as they can to avoid explaining why ICE murdered two American citizens in Minneapolis or why President Trump’s name shows up more times in the Epstein files than God does in the Bible.
I’ve had enough of President Trump posting the most racist thing he can find to distract us from the 108,435 Americans who were laid off in January and the fact that the cost of everything from heating oil to groceries continues to go up.
I’m sick of MAGA losing its mind because they don’t like who’s playing the Super Bowl halftime show hoping that if they scream that Puerto Ricans aren’t Americans (which they are) loudly enough, we’ll forget about how our health insurance premiums are skyrocketing because MAGA Republicans refused to extend the ACA subsidies 25 million Americans count on or how the Trump DOJ raided the Fulton County election office or that we’re seeing the worst measles outbreak in 30 years or that they passed the largest cuts to healthcare and SNAP in American history while giving billionaires another tax cut…and on and on and on.
America is struggling and we all know that when America is struggling, black America is in a full blown crisis. We’ve had enough.
But there is good news. We can do something about it. It all comes down to four words: Registration, Education, Motivation And Participation.
Here’s the thing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, throughout our history, when the Black church leads, our community, our Congress, our Constitution and our country succeeds.
It was the Black church, quiet prayer groups on slave plantations, that wrote the stops on that Underground Railroad into our hymns and spirituals showing the way to freedom.
It was the Black church that pooled our collective resources as newly freed slaves to give us the combined purchasing power to buy our own land and build our own futures.
The Black church served as the cornerstone of our earliest colleges and universities. Early organizers and advocates formed the first NAACP chapters in the church basement, we shared our news at the church picnic, they supported our strikes and boycotts from the pulpits and kept us safe in the sanctuary.
Through her strength, we’ve won elections and helped bend that long arc of history toward justice. But it hasn’t happened by accident. You see, that’s where those four words come from.
Registration – We engage our people where we are, registering new and disenfranchised voters in every community following the roadmap used before by everyone from Stacy Abrams to Alabama Freedom Summer. From Voter ID to purging the rolls, MAGA is doing everything they can to keep us silent but registration gives us a voice.
Education – We combat the constant misinformation and lies with undeniable facts and a constant focus. Trump can claim any nonsense he wants. The truth is that his affordability crisis is pushing even our basic necessities like heating, housing, childcare, groceries and more well out of our reach. The truth is that he stopped all Department of Justice civil rights investigations and police reform agreements including the agreements in Louisville, KY and Minneapolis, MN reached following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The truth is that his Big Ugly Bill gut healthcare and SNAP, he cut $1 billion for mental health programs in schools. The truth is that he’s attacking our community and pardoning white supremacists.
Motivation – And with education comes motivation because, once we see the truth that Trump and his MAGA GOP don’t believe we’re real Americans, we can’t help but take action. Anything less would be putting the chains on ourselves.
Participation – But none of it matters unless we show up on Election Day. That’s why we take the next step in participation. That’s why we keep those church buses running taking people to the polls. That’s why we keep the phones calling reminding the newly registered that it’s our chance to use that new voice. That’s why we keep pushing, keep our feet moving until every vote is cast and counted in every election, no matter where it is on the ballot.
Look, it’s not rocket science. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to drive the political highway. We just have to remember where we’ve come from. We have to see the strength right before our eyes, the strength that’s always been there when we needed it most.
But the fact that it isn’t complicated doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s going to take hard work and long hours but we have the strength and we have numbers. We have all the tools before us and a plan for Registration, Education, Motivation and Participation. We have the Black church’s history and the leadership it promises.
Now it’s time to get to work.
