As voters cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, there’s still time to rethink the oversimplified strategies used to engage Black voters. Doing so starts with rejecting the false notion that Black voters are a monolith.
This political convenience fails to acknowledge the rich diversity of perspectives, experiences and priorities within the Black community. Many of us are not reached because of this reductive approach to civic engagement, and we fail to build our collective power to make progress on issues that matter most including housing affordability and access, climate, migration, criminal justice and gun violence prevention.
We cannot be architects of a new America without fully understanding or honoring the intracommunity differences that make us beautiful and whole. I’ve seen these nuances firsthand as a pastor in several Black congregations. Identity is a complex and individual experience that cannot be universally defined or categorized. Faith leaders, like myself, have a unique role in relaying the messages of civic inclusion to our communities and the ability to break through the monolithic noise and rhetoric to make genuine connections. – Bishop Dwayne Royster, Executive Director of Faith in Action
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