Take pride in voting and remember the responsibility that comes with voting
On Nov. 3, something immensely important happened in America. We voted.
Across our nation, Americans of every race and ethnicity, from every generation and walk of life, representing different faiths, circumstances and political convictions, entered polling places to participate in determining the direction of our country.
From our largest cities to our smallest rural communities, we exercised a right that transcends the many differences among us, united in the sincere belief that our voices deserve to be heard and that the votes we cast will matter.
We may regard the simple act of entering a polling place and casting a ballot as routine, yet history reminds us that what we have come to expect was secured by people who were prepared to sacrifice far more than an afternoon at the polls.
For generations, laws and customs excluded Americans from full participation in their own government, while intimidation and violence enforced those exclusions even where constitutional promises appeared to offer protection. Women organized for the franchise, Black Americans confronted poll taxes, literacy tests and terror and people across the country demanded that America reconcile its democratic ideals with the realities of its conduct.
Continue building MLK’s ‘Beloved Community’
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference knows this history because we helped change it. Under the leadership of our founding president, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., SCLC brought faith, moral conviction and disciplined nonviolent direct action into a struggle that challenged the conscience of the nation.
Our movement understood that the right to vote was inseparable from human dignity and that securing the ballot would give people a voice in the decisions affecting their families, their communities and their futures.
That history gives us reason to experience something beyond the exhilaration of victory or the pain of defeat. It gives us reason to feel pride, a collective pride rooted in knowing that our nation, despite the injustices of its past, has been transformed by generations of Americans who believed deeply enough in its promises to demand that those promises be fulfilled.
We should carry gratitude for those who registered when doing so endangered their livelihoods, for those who marched knowing violence might await them, and for those whose prayers, organizing and sacrifice forced open doors that had been closed. Their courage made Nov. 3 possible, and our participation is one expression of the gratitude we owe them.
Yet pride in what we have inherited must be accompanied by responsibility for what we will leave behind. That responsibility calls us to continue building Dr. King’s Beloved Community, resisting the temptation to retreat into our lesser selves when elections expose our divisions.
Whatever the results, we must choose the difficult work of seeing our neighbors as partners in a common future and using the power of citizenship to bring that future closer.
The work does not stop on Election Day
At SCLC, our commitment to legacy, leadership and love gives shape to that responsibility. We honor the legacy of those who expanded democracy by accepting the leadership obligations their sacrifices placed upon us, while allowing love to guide how we engage our neighbors and pursue justice across the divisions that threaten our common life. Together, these principles guide our work and affirm our enduring purpose.
That commitment is taking shape through Stay in the Vote, or SITV, an initiative we are advancing at SCLC to deepen civic participation beyond Election Day. For decades we have encouraged Americans to Get Out the Vote, and that work continues, but the power of the ballot must also be carried into school board meetings, city councils, state legislatures and the decisions that shape our communities.
Elected officials must hear from citizens throughout their time in office. Through SITV, we are calling upon citizens to remain informed, engaged and organized, to hold elected leaders accountable, to influence public policy and to understand that the decisions made in government are shaped by those who continue to show up, speak out and participate between elections.
As we approach SCLC’s 70th anniversary in 2027, the faith and courage that moved people to organize in 1957 must continue to shape our leadership today. Who we have been is who we are, and the institution that helped secure a more inclusive democracy remains committed to helping our nation fulfill its promise.
The results will bring joy to some and disappointment to others, but neither response should become an ending. On Nov. 3, we exercised a right that generations fought to secure, and now we must be steeled for the responsibility of making that right meaningful.
Our work starts now.
DeMark Liggins Sr. serves as national president/CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the historic civil rights organization cofounded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1957.
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The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.