Task is Once Begun
By Antjuan Seawright, 7th Episcopal District
Legend tells us that once upon a time, an old country preacher for a small AME Church—deep in the heart of Mississippi’s backwoods—found his voice among his congregation. He said, “If a task is once begun, never leave it ‘till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well… or not at all.”
Maybe it didn’t happen that way. Maybe it’s just another in a long line of tall tales and apocryphal histories that make up the legend of America. However, it doesn’t mean it’s not true because that story illustrates the long history of the Black Church in this country both as our cultural touchstone as well as the cornerstone of action and activism for a people long oppressed.
When it comes to our struggle to be heard and exercise inalienable rights endowed by the Creator and—as free men and women—shape what this democracy looks like, this is our history. Even when it wasn’t popular and people who didn’t look like us used every weapon in their arsenal to stop us, we kept the faith. We kept marching forward.
I’m a fifth-generation member and nephew to the 133rd elected and consecrated bishop of the AME Church. So I know and understand a little bit about our history and role in shaping this country. When slaves sought freedom, they found the AME Church as the first stop on the Underground Railroad. It was an AME Church minister, the Rev. J.A. Delaine, who stood as one of four plaintiffs in Briggs v. Elliott, the cornerstone of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. It was Mother Emanuel AME Church who found herself in the crosshairs when a young white supremacist named Dylann Roof wanted to start a race war just five years ago.
This isn’t just about the AME Church. This is about how we, as a people, have always found the strength to struggle and bend the long line of history towards freedom. Now we have to do it again.
More so than any other election in my political lifetime, this November will have real consequences defining who we are and who we will be as a nation for generations to come. as they have throughout history, there will be those who try to stop us. From Voter ID laws to the endless purges and restrictions, harassment and intimidation, and old-fashion Gerrymandering that denies Americans an equal say in their own government, they’re playing the same game they were in 1964. Refuse to take disenfranchisement lying down.
The Black Church, particularly the AME Church, isn’t just our community’s nerve center. It’s our rallying point.
That’s why programs like Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s “Adopt a Precinct” model works. It not only engages black churches but also mobilizes them.
That’s why Doug Jones won in Alabama two years ago. He leveraged that historic tradition to drive historic turnout in black communities across the state.
That’s why former Vice President Joe Biden and the DNC implemented a holistic program for voter registration, voter mobilization, and voter protection. It stands against GOP-led voter suppression efforts across America. That’s why we’ll win.
I wish I could have been there to hear that Mississippi pastor all those years ago. I wish I could have heard those words echo inside those walls, “If a task is once begun, never leave it ‘till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” In the end, I’m glad I wasn’t there because the fight is here now. I didn’t need to hear those words echo from church walls because I carry them always inside my heart.
Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, the founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC, and a CBS News Political Contributor. Follow him on Twitter: @antjuansea.
