NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Lawmakers and clergy members were touring churches in Black and brown communities in Harlem on Sunday to spread the word about voting in the city’s primary election, which will help determine the next mayor.
Rev. Al Sharpton and Congressman Ritchie Torres were among the advocates taking part in the “rolling rally” bus tour, which kicked off at Mount Neboh Baptist Church on Sunday morning.
Torres used Juneteenth as a backdrop for his remarks at the church.
“For me, the best way to celebrate Black Freedom Day is to exercise Black freedom at the ballot box, because we know that when the Black vote mobilizes, America becomes a better country,” Torres said.
The congressman said Juneteenth should be a reminder of how far people of color have come in the U.S. and that voting is a way to show gratitude to those who died in the fight to earn the right to vote.
“A wise person once said that if you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’re probably on the menu. So we have a choice. We can either vote and rank and have a seat at the table, or we can be on someone else’s menu,” Torres said. “And I believe Black and brown people deserve a seat at the table.”
Sharpton said his father did not get the right to vote until he was in his 30s and that Father’s Day should be a reminder to do what many fathers did not get to do in their lifetimes.
“Blacks and browns do not come out in the numbers we should in the early voting,” Sharpton said. “Which means if we can’t come out Tuesday, don’t be moaning and groaning Wednesday.”
Sunday is the last day of early voting in the city before the primary election on Tuesday. The city is debuting ranked-choice voting for the first time, allowing voters to choose up to five candidates.
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