Vote with Discernment—but Vote!
By Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood
[Bishop Dr. Youngblood has been a pastor for more than 60 years in New York. He was a key leader in the Nehemiah Project, a Brooklyn-based housing development.]
This fall, we find ourselves in a “season of celebrity” in New York. Politics has become all about celebrity. Election season is upon us. Politicians are always trying to convince us of their loyalty and love for our wellbeing. The slick commercials flatter us and attempt to cajole us into voting for the best person to lead.
Who will you endorse, is a question that I and many other Black clergy persons are besieged by every election. Our congregations and communities of faith look to us in times like these. Everyone wants to know as early voting begins this Saturday, October 25, marching citizens toward the General Election on Tuesday, November 4.
As a tenured man of faith, I know well that endorsing any candidate in any election is a slippery slope. Too often, after our votes were tallied and the candidate we chose ascended to office—our deep disappointment still prevailed.
This election, the stakes could not be higher.
On the ballot for mayor we have: Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa and current mayor Eric Adams (though Adams suspended his campaign several weeks ago.)
We will not only be deciding the next mayor to lead New York City but also voting for many other civic leaders, including; our City Council, Borough President, Public Advocate, Comptroller, judges, and several key ballot proposals.
And I have decided that instead of offering the pro forma endorsement from the pulpit, I’m talking to parishioners about how we can best leverage our voting power to align with what is best for our families, our communities, our city and our country.
This year, it’s time for a new commitment to voting. Perennial endorsements from the pulpit are not the best we can do. We owe our parishioners more
than that. It’s time to speak about the need for a deeper reflection on how we convert our ballot power into real change in our communities and in our nation.
There are those who feel that war is a moral obligation, if that is so, then surely voting is also a moral obligation. Every election season, now and forever more, should be about life agendas, not just candidates.
Voting is both obligation and opportunity.
Brothers and Sisters, Fellow-Americans, and all who recognize the worth and wealth of our great nation these are demanding times. We must respond to the issues thereof. And one response is, to vote. It is our right and responsibility to vote with the knowledge that there will never be a perfect candidate who aligns with our every hope and need.
Still, we must vote.
The Vote is a particular privilege that identifies one with responsibility for the Republic. The Ballot, the very foundation of our access to the freedoms and the privileges our Constitution outlines is being chipped away today.
In past years, The Ballot has been denied, it has been fought for, it has been attained, it has been restored, it has been manipulated, but above all it has been an award for our steadfast fight for our full human rights in this nation.
Citizenship is in and of itself a sacred thing; sacred since the past; sacred in the present and on into the future.
Moses, the great leader and organizer in history, learned that one of the main responsibilities and gifts of those who had been Delivered was the rod in his hand.
So Moses, with the oppressor on his heels and the Red Sea in his face, was commanded, “stretch out your rod!” And when Moses stretched out his hand, the waters parted and he led his people to freedom.
Today, the rod we hold in our hand is our vote. We must vote!
Not voting is not an option. Our children are listening and watching. And, our ancestors deserve the honor of our walk to, and, our work through the Ballot.
Voting always matters. Voting is a key muscle in this democratic body.
I urge New Yorkers to pray, to study, to love neighbor and self via the vehicle of voting. Whether you cast your vote for Mamdani, Cuomo, Sliwa, or, any
other candidate on the ballot for office—today or in the future—let us do so with discernment and conviction.
New Yorkers are an amalgam—we are entrepreneurs, educators, union workers, artists, youths leaders of the future, and, the wise elders of today. We worship in churches, mosques, temples and synagogues. We speak in tongues and many other languages. We walk countless paths.
My prayer is that as in the time of Nehemiah, we the people will heed the calling to protect this democracy that God has given us. And, that we will make up our minds to vote.
Let us all flex our democratic muscle. Vote.
—Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood
