Black Faith Leaders Launch Multistate Initiative to Protect Voting Rights
Black faith leaders and interfaith coalitions launched a multistate "Faith in Us" initiative in July 2026 to protect election integrity ahead of the midterm elections. The effort aims to establish democracy hubs in houses of worship and calls on election officials to resist federal pressure that could restrict voting access.
Black faith leaders and interfaith coalitions launched a multistate initiative called "Faith in Us" in July 2026, aiming to protect voting rights and election integrity ahead of the November midterm elections.
The initiative, announced by diverse clergy groups including pastors who had previously organized against local immigration raids in Minnesota, seeks to establish "democracy hubs" in houses of worship. Organizers called on election officials to resist federal intimidation or executive orders that might restrict voting access.
On July 14, 2026, the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. Inc. launched a Center for Social Justice near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. NBCUSA President Boise Kimber cited the erosion of voting rights, the impact of redistricting on Black political representation, and what he called the "whitewashing" of Black history as primary motivations for the center.
In Ohio, faith leaders including Pastor Derrick Holmes of Union Grove Baptist Church gathered on July 7, 2026, to demand that Governor Mike DeWine take a public stand against voter intimidation and defend election security. The gathering followed an FBI raid on the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.
On June 30, 2026, leaders from historically Black Protestant churches met at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to discuss the role of their communities in upholding democracy as the nation approached its 250th anniversary.
Organizers framed the current effort as a continuation of the 1964 Freedom Summer, when civil rights workers registered Black voters across the South at great personal risk.
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice joined the effort, scheduling training and engagement campaigns to bolster nonpartisan voter participation.
Faith leaders also mobilized around immigration enforcement. On July 18, 2026, clergy and advocates held a vigil in North Charleston, South Carolina, to honor three men who died during recent federal immigration enforcement actions, demanding an independent review into the deaths.
