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The words of Benjamin E. Mays, the late sage, preacher and
university president are enduring:
I’ve only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t
refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t
choose it,
But it’s up to me to use
it.
Give an account if I abuse
it,
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.
Mays’ words are really a
prayer that his followers and others might comprehend the
brevity of time in order to seize upon important
opportunities and not allow them to slip by.
In less than a year, American voters will be facing,
perhaps, our most consequential election, even surpassing
the vote which preceded the “blood-soaked
Civil
War
or internal
War
Between
the
States,
the
grisliest
conflict in
American
history
in
terms
of
the
number
of
lives
lost
to
the
total
American
population.”
Further, the 2020 election occurs at a time when - because
of voter suppression efforts along with past and current
outside attempts to interfere with our election, it is not
entirely clear that our ballots will be protected.
This momentous election also comes at a period that Miguel
De La Torre describes as where “white nationalism has been
brought back into the mainstream of American public life;
racial tensions are running high fueled by explicit bigotry
such as slurs against Hispanic immigrants; excessive force
is perpetrated against citizens of color by law enforcement;
and the rhetoric of identity politics pervades the media
rather than racial justice and reconciliation.”
These issues ultimately manifest themselves in urban
problems such as senseless gun violence and other problems,
all of which are the outgrowth of poverty and nihilism or
hopelessness derived from exposure to long-term, persistent
tragedy and trauma in communities.
What should we do?
While life presents us with opportunities, Mays’ larger
question invites us to think about what we might do with
them. In other words, do we seize the moment and bring about
change? If so, we don’t have much time.
Strategies for Change:
Perhaps the most
significant resistance strategy to bring change for 2020 is
an action list which comes from Carol Anderson via the Miami
Herald’s Leonard Pitts, Jr. Here are some of the not only
wise but urgent actions that Anderson, an Emory University
history professor and author of “One Person, No Vote”
advises and which I recommend:
1.
Check and double check to make sure that you are properly
registered and have not been purged.
2.
If you have moved, re-register with election officials.
3.
Beware of the “okey-doke” such as fake sample ballots or
other dirty tricks.
4.
Be sure to research candidates and their platforms and be
able to discern truth from lies.
5.
Support civil-society organizations involved in
“heavy-lifting” voter registration and Get Out The Vote
activities such as the NAACP, the ACLU or VoteRiders.
6.
Be prepared to stay in line: Take water, snacks, chairs,
power packs for electronics to help counter delays.
Wisdom means that we have
comprehended the shortness of time and reached the
conclusion that we must prepare right now so that, in the
words of Pitts, “our votes are not stolen and our voices
silenced – again.”
A consequence that would
be not only foolish, but calamitous.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
