This article was originally posted on January 14, 2022.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “would be saying to me and the clergy to carry the dream. You need to keep walking because we have not arrived yet. Keep walking, because I think some of us have sat down and thought that the walk was over. He says to us ‘continue to walk until you make sure that everyone in this community and this society has their rights fulfilled and access to democracy.’ King had a dream, and that dream came with a struggle. You cannot have the dream interpreted and manifested until you continue on this struggle.”
Imam Mohamed Magid offered these closing remarks at “Why Voting is Sacred: An Interfaith Response to Protecting Our Democracy,” an event that launched “Vote is Sacred,” an emerging IFYC initiative and call to action focusing on civic engagement to end voter suppression. Magid was one of several interfaith leaders that served as panelists for this enriching conversation. The other featured panelists were the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, President of Sojourners; Rabbi Sandra Lawson, Director of Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism; Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Inclusive America Project; and Vanessa Gomez Brake, Humanist Chaplain and Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California.
The group of distinguished thought leaders delved into the significance of voting to their worldview or faith tradition. “We must vote, and we must fight for the rights of minorities and vulnerable people in this country who have been deprived from their rights to vote. You know, voting is about sharing the power… and the power should be in the hands of people,” Magid said.
As we reflect on the wisdom and sacrifice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the panelist’s words echo several of King’s statements on voting:
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