WS Chronicle

Over the past few weeks, Union Baptist Church (UBC) has been hosting a series of election forums where guests come together to discuss the importance of voting. And last week Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton and local legend Dr. Virginia Newell joined UBC senior pastor Bishop Sir Walter Mack during a virtual forum to ignite voters here in Forsyth County. 

When discussing the need for the African American community to show up on Election Day, Sharpton, a well-known civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network (NAN), said every time Black people take a step forward in this country, there has been a pushback or backlash. “We fought all the way through to Barack Obama, but this time the backlash came a little more manicured, a little more polished … in the person of a reality star named Donald Trump,” said Sharpton during the virtual forum. He said the fact that our ancestors fought, bled, and died for the right to vote should be more than enough reason to exercise that right on Nov. 3. 

“You and I should not need any message to vote,” Sharpton continued. “The fact that they didn’t want to give us that vote and people suffered and died, paid the price with their life, to give us the right to vote. So everybody under the sound of my voice should get out and vote. You can vote early … get everybody in your house to vote because we are not voting for a party, we are voting because our people paid the price for us to be able to vote and vote to keep those who will keep fighting for what is right.”

Dr. Newell, who recently celebrated her 103rd birthday, is one of the first Black women to be elected to the Winston-Salem Board of Alderman (now City Council). A proud supporter of the Biden-Harris ticket, Newell said “a voteless people is a hopeless people.”

“Everybody who is breathing and eligible to vote should go to the polls,” Newell continued. “We are living in a time that we need to vote. We have evil above us, we see it, we hear it, and all the people talk about it, and strangely enough some people believe it … but we have the power to vote the right people in.” 

The virtual election forum series hosted by Union Baptist Church will continue Thursday, Oct. 15, with special guest Judge Greg Mathis. The forum can be viewed on the Union Baptist Church Facebook page or by joining the Zoom meeting. 

For more information, visit https://unionbaptistwsnc.org/.