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Just hit and meeting and then it'll end the live stream. Okay. Alright. Bye everybody. Hey, good evening and welcome to turn up Tuesday's faith Week. My name is Lee Chapman and I'm the director of the Voting rights program at the leadership Conference on civil and Human rights Turn up Tuesday is a weekly Facebook program. by Anne. Still I vote, which is powered by the leadership conference in all voting, is local if you're you're new with us today, The Leadership Conference is the nation's largest and oldest civil rights coalition you've been around for over 50 years. We've advocated for civil rights on the federal and state levels. We also have a diverse membership and our comprised of Legacy civil rights organizations unions women's rights organizations disability rights organizations and faith-based organizations and the leadership conference has over 29 Faith-based organizations representing the Jewish Muslim Christian Hindu and Interfaith communities. Our country is in a crisis moment right now when it comes to our elections, Our democracy is at. And as November draws closer all Americans must now navigate safely during the covid- 19 pandemic today, we'll be speaking with in interfaith leaders about how voting is a tool for change why it is so important to cast a ballot in the general election and how to do it safely today we are honored to have sister Quincy Howard government relations specialist with Network lobby Reverend Terence Mckinley Racial Justice Mobilization director, was sojourners Faith So director of director of government relations and advocacy with the National Council of Jewish Women, Siobhan Williams, Georgia organizing ambassador with faith and public life. Thank you so much for joining us today. We're going to kick off our discussion and if you have any questions for any of our panelists, please add it in the comments and we will get to it during our program. so I'm gonna kick it off with Reverend Mckinley first. I'm Reverend Mckinley. Can you talk a little bit about the role that faith leaders and communities of faith have played in the fight for voting rights historically, and what does that look like today? Yes, I wanna just say thank you to the leadership conference and to you and to my colleagues in Ministry. I believe. The faith community is absolutely essential in this moment, and that's one of the reasons why I'm so encouraged by this conversation that we're having with the with this group of folks tonight. we know that historically faith leaders have always been moral leaders and trusted advocates in their community persons in their community have always looked to their pastors and their leaders to disseminate information about why it is that they need. particularly be engaged and why they need to vote, I am especially encouraged by the legacy of civil rights leaders who fought in the Black Church for the right to vote. I just last week we lost civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis, who shed his blood and put his life and his body in the way in order to insert ensure that all people have the right to vote and as we're seeing the. Since the voting Rights Act, we're seeing a time now where it's critically important where faith leaders continue that legacy and so we have a Central part to play it's critically important that we be engaged this next election is the most important election of our lifetime. it is a matter of life and death and that is not overstating it and we need everyone to lift their voice. To let folks know that they need to vote. great. Thank you so much for that. Yeah, it's really important to. tie the. and you know this week is the 50 fifth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, so we've come a long way, but we still have so much more to go. I wanna go to Quincy and faith leaders have been instrumental and encouraging voter turn out through programs like nuns on the bus and souls to the polls. How are these efforts change because because of covid-? 19 Doing Zoom church on Sundays? So how are organizations and churches adapting thanks for having me first of all and thanks for the leadership of LCR. you are pivotal in this I would I'm gonna speak more to the faith-based advocacy community because that's sort of the world that I roll in with the network lobby for Catholic social Justice this is gonna be an election like nothing that any of us have ever seen before there are so many dynamics at play even beyond the global pandemic that is underway so people are reeling the not only are the traditional get out the vote efforts change dramatically changed dramatically, but The act of voting itself, it's gonna look very different for many people and people need to be prepared for that the election activities are also changing in real time, which we've seen just from the presidential campaigns and how they have had to adjust what they're doing in the same way many of us in the faith community that have consistently try to engage and educate voters. Having to change the way that we go about things as well, I can speak to the the nuns on the bus, which we've done basically every year at network lobby doing tours around the country trying to educate voters We this year. We're we're very sad, but it was really not even a decision that we had to think through to shift that to a virtual bus tour the season it's for the safety of the sisters who tend to be elderly and also to set an example of what it looks like to care for others. The Tour is gonna be very similar to what we've done in the past years as far as having Town Hall events site visits rallies, but they're all gonna be hosted online and they're still gonna be highlighting the pressing issues in our nation lived experiences of those with the most challenges and and also looking at the impacts of the last four years, hoping that we can help Catholic voters specifically to think of themselves as multi issue. In this election, we think it's very important for the the election itself and the voting process voter education is gonna be the name of the game this year because the operations are changing and public health concerns are are shifting the entire landscape you mentioned vote by mail. We know that there's gonna be a surge in demand and States vary and how they plan to handle that surge in person. Polling stations are also gonna be making major. And how they operate so that they can be safe so faithful democracy, which is a multi-faith coalition that lobby is a part of what we have been trying to figure out how to be a value ad leading into the election and we're gonna be releasing this week in honor of the 50 fifth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Our next chapter of what we call our unheard voices toolkit and it's meant to be a comprehensive resource for communities of faith so that they can understand. Challenges are likely to be what their options are for voting, but also how they can contribute beyond voting to having a successful election through through things like service and advocacy. Oh, that's wonderful. we look forward to seeing that release. I want to go to the next of faith as we all talked about you know. Thursday marks the 50 fifth anniversary Voting Rights Act and the Leadership Conference in our coalition is calling attention to this. The fact that we've made progress, but there's still more work to do to make sure that we have an inclusive democracy what is needed and what can be done by communities of faith to protect voting rights inks and a big. thank you to the leadership conference for having me today. as you mentioned my name is Faith Williams, I'm with the National Council of Jewish Women and my pronounce or she and her. I also wanna thank my fellow Panelist. I'm learning from you all already and it's a real honor to be in the space with you today so to. Question Yes. it's a wonderful anniversary with the Voting Rights Act lost its teeth and the Supreme Court decision in 2013, called Shelby or Shelby County Beholder so the best way to honor the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act is to call on Congress to restore it. The House passed a bill last December the Voting Rights Advancement Act or HR four that would do just that. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won't even bring it or it's Senate companion to the floor for a vote and speaking. Anniversaries and legacies and people of faith and mentioned by Reverend Mckinley already after Congressman Lewis passed away in July Senator McConnell a statement praising him as a civil rights leader but side stepping voting rights entirely. the cause that nearly cost John Lewis his life in 1960 - five representative Lewis's faith, was so important to him and I don't know if any of you have read March or just know about his life in general, but he shares an anecdote that he grew up preaching to his I think the best way communities of faith can honor his legacy and Mark this 50 -fifth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act is to advocate for its restoration. faith leaders have more weight and integrity in our communities. We need them talking about voting rights and encouraging people to register and get out and vote all the time year-round whether there's a presidential election or not, we also need to work in coalition with each other, both in interfaith and secular spaces and CDW is a proud member of the Faithful Democracy Coalition, which the Quincy brought up and Is to our work and then the last thing I wanna emphasize is that we need to follow the lead of safe communities of color and in particular black faith communities who have been leading the way on this issue since day one. so that's a really important way I think faith communities can come together to protect voting rights. Thanks for that faith and you know, I know you mentioned the late Congressman John Lewis, who was born in Alabama, but you know he was a member of Congress from. Spent most of his life in Georgia so I know you are in Georgia and there was a primary election. a few months ago and we saw chaos five to seven hour lines in many places, mostly in communities of color. so can you talk about how you're engaging with voters on the ground in Georgia to drive the communities of faith, not only to turn out on Election day, but also to become advocates for voting rights. Yes, Thank you I'm Yvonne Williams. I'm in Augusta, Georgia. right outside the That's the Georgia area, which is about two hours from where we saw. horrendous long lines and a lot of our communities when people who are waiting trying to vote in our primary that just took place in June, one of the things that I've been doing and I'm the organizing an ambassador of faith in public life and so we've been. A our community specifically communities of faith communities of color of faith to Be faithful voters we have been doing our faithful pledge with faith and public life starting in Georgia back in 2014 since then it has grown to many community of faith, Many faith leaders throughout the state that comes together with our voters and we take the pledge. one of the things that I think someone who's already mentioned that faith leaders are trusted messengers and so. Use our Faithful Voters Pledge Initiative to get our faith leaders pledge to vote, but then also our congregations and in our community at large that your voice is your vote and to not be silenced our faith tells us that we have to be a voice our faith Children that God is a God of oppressed and so we have to use our faith to do the right thing. Love God but also love our neighbor so when we vote we are combining our faith with democracy to put people in. It's gonna be more accomplished and that's gonna do the right thing for the people that like them so what we do is do that and make sure with this rifle on voters pledged that they are actually. not only pledge to vote but that they registered Georgia has the laws that allow them to purge registered voters after a certain period of time, we know that is shouldn't be should be unconstitutional and so we cross match it with the voters database to make sure those that are promised to vote Those are flexible. I Register to vote and then we remind them. Hey your your faith community the community at large needs your vote and so we send those pledge cards back after we've crossed to a database. one thing that we found that is really work with this is it has allowed us if someone is not that flexible is not registered. We can get them registered and it gives us time and then send it back your pastor and your community of faith depends on your vote. And thanks for that, it's so important that voters check their registration this year in particular of the purges and we saw one point Four million voters in Georgia over a period of time and over 17 million voters were purged with between 2016 and 2018 nationwide, it's so critical to everyone. Check their registration. make sure you're on the rolls. I wanna go to Reverend Mckinley next Reverend Mckinley. I know that you are involved with sours, but you're also involved with lawyers and callers. Turn out Sunday. Can you talk a little bit about those? what they're doing to protect our right to vote this year? Sure so I've been thrilled to partner with Doctor Barbara William Skinner and the National African-american Clergy Network as well as in a leadership Institute our partners at the Center and at the lawyer's Committee in this effort called turn out Sundays and calls what and and this has been an effort that has focused on voter registration voter education voter engagement voter mobilization as well as voter protection. On the point about registration that I've I've heard come up that I just wanna lift that the in the last election the decision was made based upon a margin of victory that was a lot less than the number of unregistered African-American voters in certain States and we focus our work in nine key States and so we've recognized to the earlier conversation about the role that faith leaders can play faith leaders can educate their congregations they can. Their congregations to know what's at stake in the next election, but they can make certain that the folks who are in their pews get registered. I think in Florida, the number was somewhere around a hundred and 12000 was was accounted for the 2016 victory in and there were 336 unregistered voters in Virginia, we're talking 211000 we had 340. Thousand unregistered voters Michigan 10000 with 240000 on unregistered African-American voters and so this is this is a key issue that we have to recognize that it is critically important that we register our folks and this is also it's it's important for people of faith because one of the things that we're finding we have to combat in our messaging is the question. Do I count Does my vote? count? Yes, your vote counts your voice matters and we need people to vote but we're also doing voter protection and so and in in our nine key States we have before we were on the ground meeting with pastors in those States at prayer breakfast praying about the election and equipping them. we're now hosting what we call we are watching meetings with secretaries of state and local election. To let them know that we're gonna be watching for free fair elections. We're hosting webinars from now until the election Day for pastors and Church church based lawyers. We just started an effort called Y P 1000 to recruit 1000 young pastors because we recognize the young leaders can bring in young voters and so we're we're doing everything that we can. to ensure that the vote is that persons are registered to vote but that the vote is also. Protected as well, when polling place is closed in African-American communities early when this information campaigns happen in those communities when there's voter intimidation all of those things could determine the election so that's what we're up to with with this with this effort. It's so important sister Quincy, I had a question for you. I know that lobby has been doing a lot to make sure that we have safe and accessible elections this year because of can you talk a little bit about your federal advocacy and what you're pushing for in the federal level as far as funding sure funding right now is probably the most critical and most pressing need at this point for the election in November. So we I alluded to how many changes we're gonna be required to accommodate the demand and vote by mail as well as. To polling stations and voter education and and also recruiting poll workers is another thing. people often don't think about the demographics with your your standard coworker. that's that's going to be a big issue and already has been in a primary so all of these things cost money We need money to trickle down to the States. We need that money to trickle down to the local election officials to take on the burden of the cost and the best estimates are that three point six billion dollars is going to be. And the next response that is seems like a big number, but in the Grand scheme of things, it's pretty affordable to save our democracy If you ask me so we have been working very hard mainly focusing on Republicans in the Senate right now because that is where the hold-up is so that has been the gist of our advocacy efforts and we've been really working to bring in our our partners that our constituents with specific targeted. Senators to try to make that happen hopefully in the next week, it's got to be soon. great. Thanks so much I know the leadership conference in our coalition partners are working on that and we're also driving calls this week so if you want to make sure that we have safe and accessible elections and if you're watching if you can call your senator we would really appreciate it. so thank you. so I wanna go to faith that faith. can you talk a little bit about the work of the National. Coalition for Jewish women and what you're doing to protect the right to vote right now I'd love to Thank you so first I wanna highlight the activities of our amazing grassroots network for those of you who are unfamiliar with National Council of Jewish Women where I grassroots advocacy network at our heart and that's really where the work gets done. so in November we launched our 2020 iteration of a long running from the protect the vote campaign 22 sections, which is our word for chapter basically signed up to join. Represented by 30 - six captains who lead their work in places as diverse Phoenix, Austin, Texas, New Orleans, Milwaukee We also have leaders outside the campaign that are working tirelessly with their sections to get out the vote and to protect the vote. everyone was thrown a curve ball with the pandemic but it has not dampened any of their enthusiasm or hard work and forgive me as I check my notes for this because they're doing so many things. I'm just gonna lift up with you so some recent efforts of of our captains and other N C D W leaders include advocating at the state level for increased vote by mail and accompanying pay postage and drop boxes etcetera in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Send postcards within and outside of their networks reminding people to request absentee ballots in Arizona and California. all the webinars with local election officials on what to expect in November in Georgia launching a campaign to engage young voters in Michigan. recruiting and training volunteers in Texas and New Jersey. submitting written testimony to state officials in Maryland and Ohio, and I truly could go on and take off the rest of the rest of our webinar, which would not be appreciated. I'm sure in addition. You the grassroots work we're working at the federal level with all the things that Quincy talked about so I won't believe those points. I'm gonna add only that it may be held a hashtag vote Safe Digital Lobby day during which hundreds of the advocates both from the National Council of Jewish women and also elsewhere excuse me set up virtual sets and call their lawmakers offices and spoke out on social media. So that's some of the work we are doing. well. That's a lot and thanks for sharing with us We appreciate all the work that you. Doing I'm gonna go to you how does your faith inform your fight for democracy and voting rights? when you think about when I think I draw on my face first I look at every major movement that has happened in modern times. What we're talking about voting rights, whether we're talking about civil rights our greatest some of the greatest leaders from those movement. Came out of the church It came out of a faith based system and it's so general belief that. everyone should be treated equal. It's a general belief that takes the world as it says when it says love your neighbor if we follow that very basic principle and regardless of your religious belief, it has a fundamental value of being good to others. loving your neighbor so one of the basic fundamental rights that. Do in our democracy and to protect our democracy is to vote when we use our voice and we say that we're not gonna allow you empower to oppress people any longer or we use our voice to vote to put people in that's gonna move policies in a way so that we end racial injustice so do we in systematic oppression? everything in me, says to love my neighbor. it tells me to go vote when I say to love. It it drives me into all of our Democratic values that we have so even though Jesus as he walked, he was not a Republican. or a libertarian or. a Democratic, but he was a example, and he modeled the ideology that those that say they are believers. those who say that you're a community of faith should follow and those basic tenant when they say, love God above everything and they love your neighbor as yourself that. I have to fight for that tells me I have to go and vote. Thank you for those words, I was so powerful so we're winding down our time today, but one thing we always do on turn up. Tuesdays is we try to leave it on a high note so we ask all of our guests. What gives you hope at the moment that we are in right now? so Reverend Mckinley. I'm gonna start with you. What's giving you hope now. I would say that what's giving me hope right now is how engaged the faith community it has been at this moment like many of you who are on this call, I've been on more phone calls in the last week than I ever thought I would be on in a lifetime, but that's because faith leaders are out there engaged they're engaging their people and we need the faith community at this time. There's a quote by we lost so many people this year, but there's a quote by. Renowned theologian gay Wilmore, who says that embedded within the black religious tradition are the tools for survival elevation and Liberation and he's saying survival means just to stay alive to hold yourself together elevation means our faith is a lot that we climb out of the things that we're in and the Liberation that you can't understand Your Faith Christian faith. Faith without understanding the liberating Liberation of all people and and and so it's those deep resources that we put on to do the work that we're we're doing now that we're gonna need to make certain that every voice is heard in the in November and that that gives me encouragement and inspiration right now. Thank you for that. Sister Quincy. What gives you hope? It was the first thing is reading the ideals that are articulated by our founding fathers. I mean we have basically fallen short since day one of living up to them, but they are still there and they're still true and so I hang my hat on those ideals and then as Reverend Mckinley alluded to the redemptive spirit of people, I think there is something about moving through periods of suffering and hardship as we have seen. Black community do so gracefully that can bring you to a better place and I have to believe that all of what we are seeing right now is happening in order to lead us to something better. It's great and faith gives you hope. so first NC W's grassroots leaders and especially the promote the protective of captains just the work they're doing in the face of literally a deadly pandemic and misinformation and voter suppression. They just inspire me and I'm also inspired by Jewish values and there's a resource on our website if you go to WWW dot NC JW dot Org, and there's a handy search. And just search Judy have been voting the resource will come up but anyway, and the big thing I should say that rabbi for creating this resource but one of these values essentially comes from the mid rush, which is commentary on biblical text and this midrash is essentially says that staying on the sidelines of Injustice is in itself an act of destruction. we all must do our part to repair the world and so that value just really inspires me just can't we can't sit. And watch this happen. Thanks in. when I see what's going on now and I see the community of faith standing up I think about our God being a thing in God, you know, sometimes there's some things that are conditions so he says If you do this then I'll do this so when I hear people quote second chronicles 714 where he says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will heal the land. I'll hear from heaven. I will. And he will heal the land and when I think about that and I see people rallying behind the right to vote rallying behind wearing a mask just to show love when I see people standing up saying no more racism and I think think God is healing land of this pandemic. I think God is healing our land from racism when we go and vote, God is healing our land when we go and I'll see racism healed I'll see. economical economic disparities We'll see health care disparities. My hope comes from the promises that God has given us and then when we we see our forefathers of Justice and civil rights have come and I see where they've come and I'm a mother of the church she was a hundred and seven years old. My daughter was a junior in her undergrad when she talks about how she remember not being able to vote She's a hundred and seven years old, she remember not being able to vote. She never thought she'd be able to vote for a black man should never thought she would cast a vote for a woman in a major party. Those are things I say. A long way, but because of that we can keep going and I know that we're gonna go further. I think for those inspiring words and thank you all for joining us today for this discussion it was so powerful and so important and I definitely have hope you know now that we can make sure that we have fair safe and accessible elections this November and for our listeners if you want to learn more, I encourage you to go to the websites of all the organizations that we're represented today Network lobby sojourners National Council of Women and Faith in Public Life. So. and you all have a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you have a good day. Thank you. Thank you. Bye.