The Rev. Jamal H. Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, has joined more than two dozen other pastors nationwide on a hunger strike for greater voting protections.
The protest kicked off on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection in which pro-Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to prevent the certification of Democrat Joe Biden as president.
The goal of the strike is to press Congress to pass voting rights legislation by Jan. 17, which is observed as Martin L. King Jr. Day.
“As faith leaders, we are called to speak truth to power and to raise the conscience of this nation through moral resistance,” Bryant said in a press release about the strike. “This moment requires sacrifice and a deep commitment to radical love in action in order to redeem the soul of this nation and protect our democracy. I call on faith leaders to join me in this hunger strike continuing the tradition of Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and Congressman John Lewis.” So far, Bryant is the only pastor participating in Georgia.
Last year, Bryant was one of several Georgia religious leaders who called for a boycott of companies who did not speak out against efforts in the state legislature to limit voting access. The state went blue in support of Biden in the last presidential election.
Georgia passed a strict overhaul of elections that would, in part, require additional identification for absentee voting, limit absentee voting drop boxes to early voting sites and allow the state to takeover county elections. Other states have enacted similar legislation.
SiriusXM radio host Joe Madison is on the 60th day of his hunger strike for voting rights. He posted on Twitter that he has not eaten solid food since Nov. 8. “I will not until the president signs either the Freedom to Vote Act of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
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