Black Church Leaders Revive Civil Rights Tactics to Mobilize Voters Ahead of Midterms
Several Black Christian leaders are organizing voter mobilization efforts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, drawing on strategies from the Civil Rights Movement. Pastor Mike McBride is hosting Sunday dinners in 10 cities to unite congregations. The Rev. Traci Blackmon's Faith Out Loud project is working in 15 Southern cities to push churches into direct community action.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a group of Black Christian leaders is building voter mobilization networks that draw directly from the Civil Rights Movement playbook.
Pastor Mike McBride, founder of the nonprofit Live Free, is organizing Sunday dinners in 10 U.S. cities, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Atlanta. The gatherings bring together church and community leaders to discuss immigration enforcement, voting rights, and other political concerns.
"The idea is to unite congregations within cities and regions, to bring our people into a shared space, to hear each other's stories, to share a meal and strengthen our bonds of connection," McBride told Religion News Service.
Live Free is also collecting signatures for a "Love Free" pledge focused on defending democracy and building community power.
The Rev. Cece Jones-Davis has launched online discussions called "Just People on a Zoom," designed to bridge political divides. She said the sessions are modeled on the approach of Civil Rights leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who sought common ground even in the face of deep opposition.
The Rev. Traci Blackmon leads Faith Out Loud, a project launched in 2025 that works in 15 Southern cities. The initiative pairs anchor churches with faith-based organizers to push congregations beyond their walls and into direct community action.
Blackmon said both her initiative and Jones-Davis's are "significantly" tied to the midterms, as Congress considers the SAVE Act and the Supreme Court weighs a provision of the Voting Rights Act that could affect Black communities.
"We are definitely gearing up to defend our right to have voice and vote in the United States," Blackmon said.
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, a predominantly Black faith-based organization, held a "Sacred Strategy" session on voter mobilization at its February annual meeting. The conference is also developing a civic literacy curriculum called "Moving the Needle" to encourage voter registration among young people.
"I don't believe that the gospel is right or left," Blackmon said. "I believe the gospel is the gospel."
