EDITION
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FAITH-BASED ORGANIZING Guide to Engaging Faith-Based Voters
www.ncblackalliance.org
WHO WE ARE The North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA) is a 501(C)3 organization working toward state-level systemic change by strengthening the network of elected officials representing communities of color throughout the state and collaborating with progressive, grassroots networks on intersecting issues. The Alliance is an intergovernmental network of African American legislators, county commissioners, school board members, and municipal elected officials centered by a commitment to ambitiously address broad issues of inequality and fairness. These issues range from Democracy Reform, Criminal Justice Reform, Environmental Justice, and Economic Justice. The Alliance collaborates with strategic partners to advance the work of those organizations and to enhance intentional collaboration with black constituencies.
MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS • North Carolina Association of Black County Officials • North Carolina Black Elected Municipal Officials • North Carolina Caucus of Black School Board Members • North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus Foundation
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PARTNERS • NC NAACP • NC Black Publishers Association • NC Community Development Initiative • NC Institute of Minority Economic Development • Carolina Small Business Development Fund • NC Budget and Tax Center • NC Justice Center
VO TE R ENG AG E M E N T TIMELINE
VOTER REGISTRATION MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS DEADLINES
• Deadline September 10, 2021, for the municipal elections on October 5, 2021. • Deadline October 8, 2021, for the municipal elections on November 2, 2021. The regular deadline to register to vote in North Carolina is 25 days before an election. Find details at Voter Registration Deadlines. For information about the 2021 municipal elections, visit Upcoming Election.
REGISTRATION • Include the “6 Steps to Register to Vote” flyer in announcements and display on website. • 100% registration campaign where membership will be asked to check and update their registration and encourage someone new to register ballot.
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SPI RI TUAL M ANDATE
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e believe that God has given us a spiritual mandate to ensure that generations and struggling communities are blessed through individual acts of compassion, and the communal involvement in choosing moral leaders to represent us. This is why for nearly 15 years, the NC Black Alliance (NCBA) has consistently worked to convene and cultivate Black Elected Officials across North Carolina to centralize collective power. NCBA has also addressed policy and economic issues to enhance black communities and build local black political infrastructure. We do this by engaging black faith spaces, black Greek Lettered organizations, and collegiate campus-based organizations as a means to cultivate leadership development for youth. These actions have empowered us as an organization to address policy and economic issues to enhance black communities and promote systemic policy change. It is for this reason that we believe that black faith spaces are integral to this work. Black faith spaces have been at the forefront of the black liberation movement. From its roots in the “hush harbors,” where secret worship and anti-slavery resistance movements were formed, to its role in the Civil Rights, Voting Rights, and Black Power movements. This history has compelled us to work alongside faith spaces in the black community to once again create safe spaces, provide opportunities, and cultivate leadership skills for faith leaders to politically empower black people.
Genesis 12:3 (NLT)
All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Luke 20:25
“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
James 2:26
Just as the body is dead without breath,[a] so also faith is dead without good works. 4 | NC BLACK ALLIANCE FAITH-BASED ORGANIZING GUIDE
NC FA I TH LEA DE R S
Liberationist Faith Leaders in NC NC Black Alliance’s Faith-Based program seeks to organize faith communities for the work of building political infrastructures locally and statewide. We do so, in part, by uplifting faith leaders whose voices have leaned towards Black progressive thought, and are rooted in liberation theology. The following faith leaders exemplify this commitment, and have aided in the fight against radical extremism, voter suppression, bigotry and white supremacy. If you feel that your faith leader should be included in our next edition, please feel free to email us at cjbrinson@ncblackalliance.org.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II Dr. Barber is an American Protestant minister and political activist. He is the President and Senior Lecturer at Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He also serves as a member of the national board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the chair of its Legislative Political Action Committee. From 2006-2017, Barber served as president of the NAACP’s North Carolina state chapter, the largest in the Southern United States and the second-largest in the country. He has pastored Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Goldsboro, North Carolina since 1993.
Bishop Taniya Rawls Bishop Tonyia M. Rawls is a national faith leader and social justice activist who has focused the majority of her work in the Southeastern United States fighting oppression and discrimination. In 2000, Bishop Rawls founded Unity Fellowship Church Charlotte and in April 2008, was consecrated as one of the first women Bishops in the Los Angeles-based Unity Fellowship Church Movement’s history. In 2014 she founded Sacred Souls Community Church UCC, a diverse congregation of progressive Christians in Charlotte. She also takes her work outside the walls of the church. Bishop Rawls is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Freedom Center for Social Justice (FCSJ). Founded in 2009, they work intersectionality through their programs that support the trans community, people of color, people of low wealth, youth, and sexual minorities.
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Rev. Dr. T.A. Spearman Dr. Spearman is an ordained minister with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church denomination (A.M.E. Zion). He has worked extensively in the leadership of the denomination in North Carolina on many levels since 1997, and has been the pastor of St. Philip AME Zion Church in Greensboro, NC since 2014. Prior to his pastoral career, Dr. Spearman worked in correctional institutions, hospitals, colleges, and community-based programs as a substance abuse counselor. Dr. Spearman has been a courageous and controversial servant in the NC NAACP in the Historic Thousands on Jones Street Movement (HKonJ), and the Moral Monday Movement. In 2011, he was named the NC NAACP Minister of the Year. He served as the Third Vice President of the NC NAACP from 2011-2017 and was elected president in October 2017.
Ash Love Ash Love (she/her/they/ash/ashlove) is a macro social worker, creative, community strategist, author and faith-rooted organizer; she is also the curator of the Trust Black Women ecosystem, a photo journalistic exhibition, podcast, pilgrimage and theological claim which centers the holy voices, stories and knowledges of Black women. Ash has been a part of various boards, hush harbors, house meetings, artist hubs, campaigns, strategy meetings, research projects and advisory committees — all of which brings her back to her passion: to make an impact on the lives of the most marginalized. She ministers beyond the four-walls, standing in the gaps for the least of these, and in coalition with many other organizers — her work is rooted in justice, liberation and dismantling systems of oppression. One of her greatest accomplishments is walking alongside young people as our future leaders. Currently, she is pursuing a second master’s degree at Wake Forest University School of Divinity.
Rev. Lynice Pinkard Rev. Lynice Pinkard is a pastor, teacher, writer, activist, singer and healer. Her work is dedicated to decolonizing the human spirit and to freeing people from what she calls “empire affective disorder.” Rev. Lynice recently moved from Oakland, CA, and now lives with her partner in Efland, NC.
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Rev. Terrance Hawkins Rev. Hawkins is a husband & father of 4 beautiful children. A native of Winston-Salem, NC, he has served the local church & his city the last 17 years through pastoral ministry, community organizing, youth development, & the arts. He is the founder/ director of Lit City (a youth development initiative), co-founder of a collective of local activists called the Drum Majors Alliance, & currently serves as the Co-Executive Director for the School of Love—a locally based cohort seeking to reclaim the ways of radical discipleship.
Rev. Brandon Wrencher Rev. Brandon Wrencher is a minister, organizer, writer, and facilitator. He works across the US within faith, education, and non-profit sectors at the intersections of decolonizing church, contemplative activism, and local presence to build beloved communities. With a team of friends and neighbors, Brandon started The Good Neighbor Movement, a multiracial, queeraffirming, Black-led network of spiritually-rooted activist groups across Greensboro.
Rev. Nelson Johnson Rev. Nelson Johnson is founder of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, NC and a longtime advocate for poor people. He led the 1979 anti-Klan march in which neo-Nazis and Klan members, with police collusion, murdered 5 protesters on November 3, 1979. He has been a leader in the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation process, designed to seek truth and reconciliation around those events. Johnson continues to work for social and economic justice in Greensboro as Pastor Emeritus of Faith Community Church and Co-Director along with his wife, Joyce Hobson Johnson, of The Beloved Community Center of Greensboro.
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Rev. Anthony Smith Rev. Anthony Smith is a pastor at Mission House and community leader who’s been active in Salisbury, NC. Smith is known in the Salisbury area for his community involvement. Smith has worked to try to launch a Truth, Healing, Hope and Equity Commission that will help facilitate racial justice, reconciliation and healing in the community. Smith wants to bring a diversity of stakeholders together across racial, gender and class lines to harvest our collective wisdom and to conspire together for deep community transformation. One of Rev Smith’s biggest accomplishments would come during the protest for Black Lives, following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneappolis police officer. Smith and other activist, on the ground, were able to organize the removal of the statue named “Fame”, a 111-year relic of a confederate soldier being held in the arms of an angel in the heart of downtown Salisbury, NC.
Rev. Dr. Gregory Moss Rev Dr. Gregory Moss, was called to pastor Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, in November 1998, where he served for 17 years until his retirement in November 2015. His ministry intentionally sought to provide an atmosphere for disciples to experience spiritual growth through exercising their God-given gifts and talents through service to the church and community. Dr. Moss is a champion for personal and spiritual empowerment, as well as economic and social justice. He has served as, President of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, President of Lott Carey Foreign Missions Convention, and chairman of the Strategy Team for HELP (Helping Empower Local People), a local extension of Industrial Area Foundation (IAF), a national grassroots organization established for the purpose of organizing for social justice. One of Moss’ most notable accomplishments was a 2014 voter registration drive, where Moss used as a basis for his testimony in a lawsuit challenging the state Voter ID law.
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Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr. Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr. was born in Philadelphia and reared in New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Maryland State College (Princess Ann, MD); the Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, NC); and a Doctor of Ministry from Boston School of Theology (Boston, MA). Dr. Jones has organized and led numerous medical and religious mission teams of preachers, doctors, nurses, technicians and teachers to provide needed healthcare, medical supplies and educational training in Jamaica, Africa, and Guyana, South America for children and families struggling in poverty. Jones is an advocate for the marginalized, the oppressed, and for justice, having also served as the Senior Minister of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina since October 1982.
Rev. Cureton Johnson Rev Cureton Johnson, D.Min., is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971. By 1984 Cureton Johnson had earned his Master of Divinity Degree from Shaw University in his hometown of Raleigh, and found himself the pastor of New Red Mountain Church in northern Durham County and later at Baptist Grove Church in Wake County. He is known as a preacher with confidence. He is known as a preacher with conviction. Rev. Cureton Johnson has championed social justice and stood tall for those who could not stand for themselves. He speaks out for the oppressed in the community. In addition to speaking up for the disenfranchised, he has lent his passionate voice without apology for those who sought better tomorrows for all.
Rev. Dr. David C. Forbes, Sr. Rev. Forbes was the Pastor of Christian Faith Baptist Church in Raleigh. He was a member of the Shaw University Board of Trustees. Rev. Forbes attended the April 1960 founding conference of SNCC at Shaw while a student at Shaw. At Shaw on April 16, 1960, Ella Baker of Littleton, N.C., convened sit-in leaders and civil rights elders from across the country. Both Baker and Forbes were influential in creating the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, whose bold tactics of “nonviolent direct action” reinvigorated a civil rights movement that had been stalemated in the late 1950s. www.NCBlackAlliance.org| 9
Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. is president of Healing of the Nations Ministries and serves as national minister for the Drum Major Institute. He is senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York City where he pastored for 18 years. He was the first Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary in NYC and taught homiletics for 13 years. Additionally, Dr. Forbes is a highly acclaimed author, scholar, and nationally sought-after speaker affectionately referred to in national and international religious circles as the “preacher’s preacher” because of his extensive preaching career and his charismatic style. Newsweek magazine once recognized Forbes as one of the 12 “most effective preachers” in the English-speaking world. As a passionate educator, administrator, community and human rights activist, and interfaith leader, Dr. Forbes was twice designated as one of America’s greatest Black preachers by Ebony magazine.
Dr. Clarence Newsome Born to a family of educators in Hertford County, Dr. Clarence Newsome is a triple alumnus of Duke University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in religion in 1972, a Master of Divinity in 1975 and a Ph.D. in religion in 1982. Newsome was the university’s first African American student commencement speaker and he won the prestigious James B. Duke Dissertation Year Fellowship while pursuing his doctoral studies. Newsome went on to serve Howard University School of Divinity in 1986 as the assistant dean. He became associate dean in 1988. When Dr. Lawrence N. Jones retired in 1991, Newsome was tapped to be acting dean and the next year was named dean of the divinity school officially. Newsome shepherded the School of Divinity through two 10year re-accreditation reviews and established its first Office of Institutional Advancement and Development. During his years at the helm, applications increased by 40 percent. Rev. Newsome found his way back home when he became the 13th President of Shaw University.
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Erin
As we assess the two major candidates for the election, we can be sure that there will be a lot of Voter Apathy during this election cycle. The NC Black Alliance wants to equip you with the tools necessary to combat Voter Apathy. We call this approach the Erin Byrd Model.
C O M BA TI N G V O T ER A P A TH Y
T H E E R I N DALE MO D E L VOTING IS A TACTIC.
n Byrd Model.
1. Voting is insufficient as a strategy for change. We tell people to vote as if it changes our material conditions. It does not. Voting is a tactic and only works as part of a strategy. 2. Please do not tell people our Ancestors died for us to vote. They are still dead. And, our material conditions have not changed. I submit they died for more than our vote. In fact, they were murdered for our freedom. PLEASE DON'T SHAME !!! When you say things like this to SHAME people. You are actually SUPPRESSING turnout. Yes, you are spreading apathy and discouraging people because they have voted and are not seeing their lives transformed. We are essentially lying to people when we claim voting changes everything. Because we only say Go Vote...we imply it's the only answer. 3. We must help our folks see we must go beyond voting. We must SAY this in ALL our messaging. We must say this in our messaging.
4. Emails and robocalls calls do not work. Just send me that money I need a new pair of gold high tops. 5. Direct contact, door to door, face to face, conversations have the most impact. Phone calls that encourage a conversation NOT transaction also have impact. Text messages as part of a program help too. Believe it or not door hangers work but not nearly as well as a direct conversation. Voter Guides are a best every time. 6. Build a plan, build a plan, build a plan and implement it. 7. Organize, align, study, reflect, strategize, build, and then vote. 8. Turnout increases when we have inspiring candidates that truly represent us. So if you are DIRECTLY ACCOUNTABLE to a base consider running. Voting is a powerful first step because we have a lot of important issues to work on. To win we must go beyond voting. We have to build this world we want to live in!! www.NCBlackAlliance.org| 11
Tactical Suggestions The NC Black Alliance wants you to take this election very seriously, but we also want you to see beyond this moment. The 2020 Election cycle has presented the Black Community with the opportunity to utilize this election cycle to educate the black electorate, form comprehensive analysis around the issues, and invite low-impact voters back into the process of building black political power within local communities.
Instead of Shaming Voters... TACTIC 1
TACTIC 2
Learn three local issues to share with an impacted voter, expressing to them how not voting will directly affect them should the wrong candidate be elected, or initiative be supported.
Become knowledgeable about who’s running for office down the ballot not just the high profile offices.
TACTIC 3
TACTIC 4
Commit to calling 25 low impact voters and discuss with them the political landscape locally, stressing why their involvement is necessary to spark transformative change. (Example: RVP)
Finally if they refuse to vote, be able to provide them with 4 to 5 local organizations that they can join to begin to get activated politically within the community.
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Voting Safely in the 2021 Muncipal Elections
V O T I NG S A FE L Y
Given the continued realities of the COVID-19 health pandemic, it is critical that voters know what resources are available for them to register and to vote safely. A few options that voters can take advantage of are: • Online voter registration (if you an NC Driver's license, or DMV-issued ID) • Request an absentee ballot
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Requesting and Absentee Ballot Form For the 2021 municipal elections, there are two ways North Carolina voters can request an absentee ballot: • Online at the absentee ballot request portal at votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/absentee/ lookup • On paper with the English N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2021 (fillable PDF) or the Spanish N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2021 (PDF coming soon) Not all municipalities offer absentee-by-mail voting. To determine whether absentee voting is available in your municipality, visit the www.ncsbe.gov/2021-municipal-voter-tool.
Do’s and Don’ts of Faith-Based Organizing: DO:
• Publish news stories about campaigns, and discuss candidates’ positions on issues. • Allow candidates to make appearances at events and services. • Distribute candidate campaign literature, as an individual faith leader. • Distribute candidate surveys and/or voting records of office holders. • Use organization’s vehicle(s) to transport people to vote. • Lobby and campaign for/against legislation as a congregation or individual.
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DON’T:
• Support or oppose candidates on congregation’s behalf. • Use organization funding to give financial contributions of any kind to candidates/ office holders. • Impose your opinions on the congregation. • Publish editorials that support/oppose candidates in the name of the organization. • Publish political ads as a donation. • Display candidate ads on organization vehicle used to transport people to vote. • Distribute candidate campaign literature as a congregation.
2021 Key Voting Dates
VOTER SAFETY + PROTECTION Visit SafeVoterNC.org to receive credible, up to date information regarding voting options, and provide clear guidelines on how YOU can proactively engage in the vote by mail process and avoid obstacles while casting a ballot at the polls.
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SER M O N S C RIPT URES FOR M OB IL IZAT ION Psalms 10:17-18 17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. Psalms 82:3-4 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Proverbs 14:31 31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Zechariah 7:9-10 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Matthew 25:42-43 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
Proverbs 31:9 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Amos 5: 21, 23, 24 21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;your assemblies are a stench to me… 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river,righteousness like a never-failing stream!
CONTACT: Reverend CJ Brinson (He/Him/His) Faith Based Engagement Director cjbrinson@ncblackalliance.org 336-327-1826